“Korbo, lorbo, jeetbo re...”
This anthem was launched some 11 years ago when the first season of Indian Premier League (IPL) took off and since then it has been something most Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fans have live by.
The team has been through many highs and lows but as a fan, personally, I have never stopped supporting them.
We didn’t make it to the top four in the first few seasons, even finished last, but there was always something about the team and the players that made the fans root for them.
Our fortunes did do a 180-degree turn and we won two seasons while making it to the top 4 almost consistently.
But...
This IPL has been disappointing and lacklustre for the knights to say the least. We have faced five losses in a row and are looking down the barrel with the tournament reaching the business end.
There have been some fundamentals mistakes that KKR has regularly been making, that need to be fixed if they are looking at a chance for redemption.
The Russell Fixation
The dependency on Russell’s big hitting is too apparent. And more often than not, he does perform and gives his very best. But pinning all hopes and chances on one person is not fair on the player or the team. There is a reason why cricket is called a team game.
Expecting one person’s batting (and at times balling) skills to win you matches is not how you expect to win a tournament as huge as the Indian Premier League.
At best, it can be a ‘jugaad’ or just a trick to get by but not really come out on top.
Even for Russell to work, there needs to support from the other end that seems grossly missing. He has been minting runs at an astonishing strike rate but some bad decisions have marred his talent too.
Lapses in Captaincy
It has been said time and again and is apparent this season that Dinesh Karthik has been a sub par captain. Andre Russell, the star player has said it himself that it will be better if he came to the bat a little higher up in the order.
But he has been sent at number six or in some cases at seven also, which hardly gives him time to set or balls to make his stay at the crease fruitful.
Lately, KKR has become the most predictable team in terms of strategies and the choices they make, which has again harmed the team’s fortunes.
They have also been very rigid with their ways. Dinesh Karthik needs to take more chances with his team and the roles that certain players play in order to have any chance to reach the play-offs (which looks like a distant dream right now).
The first thing to take care is the batting order. As far as bowling is concerned, it is in a bigger mess and needs a complete makeover.
Poor Usage of Bench Strength
In their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kuldeep Yadav was dropped with Dinesh Karthik reasoning that he did not stand up for the team in their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Yadav was slammed for almost 60 runs in their four overs. The World Cup-bound spinner has been grappling with bad form and this decision seems to have come a bit too late.
Another team regular, Robin Uthappa has been struggling for a while now with constant dismal performances. He took 20 balls to score nine runs in their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Russell and Rana almost got them home.
Rinku Singh, an uncapped player has been sitting at the bench for the whole season. He has shown some promise at the domestic circuit and could have been brought into picture earlier than the previous match against Rajasthan Royals.
The overseas and domestic mathematics has also been one of KKR’s undoing.
With only four games to go, KKR seem to be in a bad shape, a lot of hard work and luck is needed if they want to extend their campaign this year. Fans are still rooting and waiting for a much-needed win to come.
Fingers crossed...
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