Kolkata Knight Riders - Rising Star of IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament has seen a new rising star in its 2011 edition. The Kolkata Knight Riders IPL cricket team has displayed strong showing this 2011 IPL season and is a favorite to win the tournament. With Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan at the helm, and the talented India batsman, Gautam Gambhir as their new captain, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have managed to fight their way to the top rankings of the IPL2011, much to the delight of fans in Kolkata and the rest of India.

With a motto of "Korbo, Lorbo and Jeetbo" (in Bengali) or "To do, to fight, to win", and purple-gold colors, KKR has shown an indomitable spirit and zeal in playing good cricket and vanquishing opposing cricket teams.

Let's take a look at an in-depth look at the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL cricket team.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - Owners and Management
The Kolkata Knight Riders is owned by Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta through their company Red Chillies Entertainment. KKR, the Kolkata franchise of the IPL, was bought at a price of USD 75.09 million in 2008.

Shah Rukh Khan brings his star power and glamour to the KKR team as well as the IPL as a whole. Shah Rukh Khan is often seen cheering the Kolkata Knight Riders team at the matches along with his children.

The KKR twenty20 cricket franchise has appointed Venky Mysore as the Chief

Executive Officer (CEO). Venky Mysore was the India Country Head of Sun Life Financial. Owner Shah Rukh Khan trusts Venky Mysore to help KKR become a "world-class franchise". It was recently announced that KKR had managed to break even and was making profits.

KKR's sponsors include Nokia, Matrix and Reebok.

KKR IPL 2008 - 2010 Performance
The New Zealand batting sensation, Brendon Mccullum was the 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders opening batsman. He started the first IPL season with a bang, smashing a record 158 runs in the first IPL match in Bangalore against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

After a sensational opening in the start of the 2008 IPL edition, Kolkata's performance lagged for the next three IPL editions.

Here's a summary of the performance of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2008 - 2010 editions of the IPL.

• IPL 2008 - In the inaugural edition of the IPL Twenty20 tournament, the KKR franchise won 6 of its 14 matches. It ranked sixth in the overall team rankings, out of eight competing teams. With 13 points, it had a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.147. The presence of cricketing stars such as Brendon Mccullum and former India captain and icon player, Saurav Ganguly could not propel the team to higher rankings. The team did end on a winning note by defeating Kings XI Punjab in the last IPL 2008 match.
  
  
• IPL 2009 - IPL 2 or the second IPL edition was played in South Africa in 2009. In this season, the Kolkata Knight Riders team was in the news due to the appearance of the "Fake IPL Player" blogs which did much to deride the team and other controversies. It was subsequently revealed that the blogs were written by a writer in Bangalore. KKR ended last on the IPL rankings table, winning only 3 of 14 matches played. During IPL 2009, Ganguly was removed as captain and Mccullum appointed instead. The team coach, John Buchanan, was also the subject of negative news reports.
  
  
• IPL 2010 - This IPL edition saw an improvement in KKR performance with a ranking of six. It won 7 out 14 matches. KKR started on a positive note by winning against Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The end to the IPL 2010 was also marked by a win against Mumbai Indians. The IPL 2010 saw the addition of bowlers such as Shane Bond.
  
  

IPL 2011 - Spectacular Performance, Consistent Players
The fourth edition of the IPL T20 tournament has seen the Kolkata Knight Riders give consistently good performances. Although the icon player of the team, Saurav Ganguly was not picked for the squad, the new lineup has ensured a good result for KKR. They are expected to be among the top teams in contention for the winning place.

The captain of the 2011 KKR franchise team is Gautam Gambhir. He is helped by opening batsmen Eoin Morgan (England) and the formidable Jacques Kallis (South Africa).

Other members of the KKR squad include bowlers such as Brett Lee, Iqbal Abdulla, L.Balaji and Jaidev Unadkat. Some all-rounders and batsmen are Yusuf Pathan and Rajat Bhatia.

Dav Whatmore is the coach of the KKR team, along with Wasim Akram as the bowling coach.

For more information on Kolkata Knight Riders, visit their website at www.kkr.in and the IPL T20 official website at www.iplt20.com