IPL 2019 | Kolkata Knight Riders – SWOT Analysis

03/19/2019

Like most other seasons, Kolkata Knight Riders will be approaching the Indian Premier League as the side that keeps their weapons high up their sleeves to shock and awe as and when needed. A look at their auction buys and one would be convinced that Dinesh Karthik is coming with surprises yet again.

One of the major differences between Kolkata Knight Riders and most other title-winning sides in the IPL has been their style of recruitment. While most other teams have been quite adamant in sticking to their winning core and to a large extent, the same squad, the likes of KKR or SRH focus more on getting similar kinds of players with other supporting attributes.

Hence, despite the look of a harmless participant to many at the beginning, they have more often than not come close to getting their hands on the title. This season isn’t expected to be any different with the likes of Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Royal Challengers Bangalore sticking to their elite few, while others go on with their major revamp.

It would be a tricky season as well with England and Australia deciding to pull back their players from May owing to the World Cup, commencing from May 30. And KKR’s shopping has been seemingly clever considering the significant development.

Strengths

If gone solely by the first eleven in a team, then KKR would only come after Mumbai Indians as the most balanced and strongest sides. Most teams in IPL have been lopsided in order to accommodate a big name here or a match-winner there. But, KKR’s relatively small squad has taken that problem out of the equation with the first eleven having a very little chink in their armour.

To start with, the management wouldn’t want to fidget with the opening pair after some disastrous results last season. While a craftier and reliable Robin Uthappa might seem like an upgrade on Sunil Narine in the top order, the truth is T20 is a funny game and sometimes sticking with the mindless horse gives you the longer distance. With Chris Lynn coming back to the camp, and free of injuries for a change this time, to take the field alongside Narine, another 105 in six overs is always lurking around the corner.

Uthappa might have had under par season last year, but as far as potential goes, he is one of the most technically gifted players. He is fifth on the list of most runs scored in IPL scored with 4,086 and only sits after the likes of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Gautam Gambhir. Having 23 fifties, he would be the ideal man to bring stability to the top order in case of an early collapse.

Following him would be the duo of Nitish Rana and Shubhman Gill, who have just the perfect temperament for the format and could fit in anywhere between three to five. However, after some impressive cameos last season, the U-19 World Cup hero could actually see a promotion up the order. While Rana has a lot to prove with his bat, his quirky close fielding was a big advantage for KKR last season and he would continue that this season as well. In case all the five have failed, which hasn’t happened even once last season, comes the experienced likes of Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell. Coming at number six and seven respectively, the duo had 814 runs between them, which hints that they have more often than not delivered for the side and justifies KKR’s master plan surrounding this core. And as far as the task of finishing goes, only Chennai Super Kings’ MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo could match KKR’s two-edged sword in the middle order.

KKR could bat to as deep as seven, an attribute hardly any team in IPL could boast of. And following that comes in the bowlers. Adding Lockie Ferguson to the existing likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, and Prasidh Krishna, KKR have six specialist bowlers. While Ferguson would be a mystery package for the side, the rest have been a proven group last season. In all, seven batsmen and six bowlers with the perfect balance of openers, middle-order, finishers, as well as wicket-takers, KKR approach IPL 2019 with a very good shot at the title.

Weaknesses

While their first eleven could be one of the best in the league, they also have one very big chink in their armour – an Indian fast bowler. Having a specialist Indian pacer with considerable experience on Indian tracks is quintessential for any IPL side, and KKR could only compensate that so much. Hardly any side in the IPL has left this department empty, which only points to the severity of KKR’s situation. The intent of going with young pacers like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti was quite ambitious and noble to be honest, but their repeated unavailability has now cost the side for the second consecutive year. While Prasidh Krishna and Sandeep Warrier are also decent Indian bowling options, they are hardly reliable given their inexperience at such a level. KKR, however, have always thrived on their lesser known names stepping up to the moment and expecting the same wouldn’t be a stretch for the neutrals.

KKR are also walking on a thin rope when it comes to their immense dependency on the starting eleven. For the side to click well everyone in the starting eleven has to do their job perfectly and such a thing is a rare sight in T20. While this is the only format in cricket that can be broken down into a winning formula, T20 cricket is also immensely volatile in nature and could swing sides within seconds. It is for moments like this that a match winner is essential in a side. Barring a hand-counted five decent names here and there, KKR hardly have someone who could change the course of the game on a given day.

Opportunities

While weaknesses look pretty deep if procrastinated, a clever auction has enabled them to pretty much stay in the competition even when other sides start losing star players in the World Cup month of May. Among the potential backups that KKR have are Carlos Brathwaite, Joe Denly, Anrich Nortje, Rinku Singh, and more. While Nortje has already made headlines, which includes impressing Dale Steyn, with his insane speed and reigning supreme South Africa’s series against Sri Lanka, England’s Joe Denly has accrued praises from the likes of Eoin Morgan to make a strong case for himself ahead of the World Cup. Now, they both are fringe players and are highly unlikely to travel to the World Cup, and although their IPL experience has been minimal, KKR would still have some exciting talents in the bag when the big Australian and English names from other sides leave the tournament midway in the first week of May.

Not only the foreign players but with all the furore that Virat Kohli’s post-Australia series comments about workload have caused, every World Cup probables would think twice before giving their all in the second half of the tournament. KKR, having only Kuldeep Yadav as a fixed name for the World Cup and Dinesh Karthik waiting for his chance, would have a huge advantage in this regard. With Chris Lynn most likely leaving in the beginning of May, KKR could either get in Denly in his place or promote Uthappa as a makeshift for Brathwaite. Despite all the criticism that the all-rounder has got, the West Indian could come in handy in the fag end of the league stages with his big hits. Rinku Singh also comes into the fray at the back of a mindboggling Ranji campaign where he tallied 953 runs in just 13 innings at an average of 105.88, which consisted of four centuries. Both him and Gill were chosen in Ranji’s team of the season. Not shying away from going for the big shots, Singh could be a real deal breaker for KKR this season in crunch situations.

Threat

If going by what happened last season, then an ageing Robin Uthappa could be KKR’s biggest threat. The once T20 specialist was KKR’s star player back in 2014, where his mammoth 660 runs off 16 matches with an average of 44 had propelled the side to the title. However, whether it is the age or the lack of ambition, but the batsman has been nowhere close to that performance thereafter. In the four years since then Uthappa has failed to cross the 400 run tally every time, and now when the team needs him to adjust in the middle-order, he has faltered. Interestingly, KKR’s batting flexibility has him at the core of it for his vast experience in that position. Promoting a Gill to number three or taking the opening spot in Lynch’s absence, Uthappa should be KKR’s heart to control the tempo of the game and his inconsistency would be the biggest threat that could impact KKR’s season.

Squad

Dinesh Karthik (c), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Carlos Brathwaite, Anrich Nortje, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Nikhil Naik, Yarra Prithviraj, Shrikant Mundhe, Joe Denly.

Ideal Starting XI

Chris Lynn*, Sunil Narine*, Robin Uthappa, Shubhman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell*, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson*, Prasidh Krishna.