Starting troubles continue to hamper Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) seem to be in a perpetual dilemma with their top-order this season as they have struggled for a stable opening combination in IPL 2023. So far this season, KKR has had six different opening combinations in nine games.
The decision to let go of Shubman Gill before IPL 2022 and breaking his successful partnership with Venkatesh Iyer at the top has backfired massively for the Knights. Since then, KKR has struggled to get the kind of start they would have wanted. Numbers paint a sorry picture, as their first-wicket partnership averages a mere 21.33 this season.
This raises serious questions about why the think tank allowed to let go of a prodigious talent like Gill, who has been performing well with the willow, but in a different jersey. Ever since his move from KKR to Gujarat Titans, Gill has gone on from strength to strength, scored 816 runs in 24 matches, and lifted the IPL trophy.
Kolkata Knight Riders players during a training session on the eve of the IPL 2023 cricket match against Punjab Kings, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (PTI Photo)
On the other hand, the Knight Riders have looked like a shadow of their past, finishing seventh last season and languishing eighth in the IPL 2023 standings. Adding insult to it, Gill also played a match-winning knock of 49 runs against his former employers when KKR hosted GT at the Eden Gardens last month.
But KKR CEO Venky Mysore expressed no regrets and blamed it squarely on the IPL rules. “There is never any regret. In fact, there is happiness in seeing him do so well. We made our decision based on a set of information that we had, and we believe we made the right decision,” he said on the sidelines of an event.
Before the 2022 auction, KKR retained the West Indian duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, alongside leg-spinner Varun Chakavarthy and all-rounder Iyer. Keeping hold of the ageing pair of Russell and Narine has not augured well for the team, and once again points fingers at the KKR management’s decision.
Continuous changes in the opening slot has also affected KKR’s batting in the powerplay, as they struggle to score freely in that phase. The onus then falls on the middle-order batters to resurrect the innings to safety and provide the required impetus for the innings.
As a result, KKR’s top three scorers in the tournament are their middle-order batters- Rinku Singh (316), Venkatesh Iyer (303), and Nitish Rana (275).
Kolkata Knight Riders players during a training session on the eve of the IPL 2023 cricket match against Punjab Kings, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jason Roy, who have fared well at the top, come in next with 183 and 180 runs, respectively.
Regarding the best strike rate, which is crucial in the powerplay batting, barring Roy, Rana, Iyer and Rinku feature in the l.
A look back at the two seasons when KKR became champions of IPL reveals they had a well-settled top three. In 2012 it was Manvinder Bisla, Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis. In 2014, it was Robin Uthappa, Gambhir and Manish Pandey. With Gambhir being the common denominator, KKR had managed to keep a well-settled top three through the tournament, and the results were there for everyone to see.
Currently, the merry-go-round has yet to help the team at all as they languish at the bottom half of the points table. Incidentally, they have lost another opener – Bangladesh’s Litton Das who was acquired for his base price of Rs 50 lakhs. However, Das left the Knight Riders camp earlier this month to attend to a medical emergency in his family. He played only one game in IPL 2023. Johnson Charles has joined Kolkata Knight Riders for the remainder of IPL 2023 as a replacement.
Knight Riders, currently eighth on the points table, face Punjab Kings in their next match.