How Gautam Gambhir's return has brought Kolkata Knight Riders back to its former glory

Gautam Gambhir and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a match that is made in cricketing heaven.

It had very much been the case during Gambhir’s playing days after his arrival from Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils). KKR had struggled to make an impact under Sourav Ganguly’s leadership in its early years, and decided to give Gambhir a shot in 2011. The Kolkata fans had initially opposed the move, but would end up embracing Gambhir as one of their own after the left-handed opening batter led the franchise to two titles in a space of three years.

More than a decade since they last won the trophy in Bengaluru, Gambhir is creating magic with the ‘Purple Brigade’ once again, this time in the role of a mentor.

KKR’s cabinet did not have any new additions since their two titles under Gambhir’s leadership. The closest they had come was a runner-up finish in 2021 under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, losing against Chennai Super Kings in the final in the UAE. The team had produced one of its most disappointing performances in a decade last year, finishing seventh in the 10-team table under Nitish Rana’s leadership, with regular skipper Shreyas Iyer missing out due to injury.

Iyer certainly deserves praise for his leadership skills, having previously led the Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020 — their only appearance in the IPL summit clash till date. As does head coach Chandrakant Pandit, an immensely successful coach in the domestic circuit.

However, there is no denying that Gambhir’s arrival certainly has had a positive effect on the Knight Riders, who are going through a purple (pun unintended) patch at the moment and on Saturday, became the first team to qualify for the playoffs after beating Mumbai Indians (MI) at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

“I have seen Gautam Gambhir gets inspired when the situation gets tough. He starts advising and that’s how it should be. Anybody can be a pilot when the sea is calm but you only learn when in adverse situations," former India cricketer Navjot Sidhu had said after KKR completed a season double against five-time champions MI on Saturday.

Nitish, who didn’t have the best of time as captain last year, too credited mentor Gambhir as well as coach Pandit for their turnaround this season, with the Knight Riders currently perched at the top of the table and likely to secure a top-two finish at the end of the league stage.

“You have to play good cricket to win games for your team, not just against Mumbai Indians. The difference this year compared to other years is that we are playing as a collective unit. We trust and believe each other. The credit for this goes to Chandu sir (Chandrakant Pandit) and Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir). They have backed players and it’s bearing fruit,” Rana said after KKR’s victory on Saturday.

Among the biggest reasons behind Kolkata’s clinical run this season has been the all-round contributions of their senior West Indian all-rounders Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. The two had made their debut for the Knight Riders under Gambhir’s leadership in 2012 and would go on to become part of the team’s core for the next 10 years.

Narine and Russell fire under Gambhir

Questions were being asked of their place in the KKR squad taking their age into consideration, especially that of Narine who hadn’t been consistent enough with the ball and hardly contributed with the bat. With Gambhir back in the fold, Narine has roared with bat as well as with ball, finding himself in the top-10 in both departments.

The southpaw’s formed a destructive opening partnership with Englishman Phil Salt, who has 435 runs to his credit this season, with the pair responsible for getting KKR off to flying starts more often than not and laying the foundation for their 200-plus totals that have been scored fairly frequently.

Narine’s economical bowling has led to many batters opting to see his overs out and take the attack to other members of the KKR attack. And as a batter, he has collected 461 runs this season at an average and strike rate of 38.42 and 182.93 respectively.

Russell too has been a success with the ball, collecting 15 wickets so far to find himself at the ninth spot in the Purple Cap list to go with 222 runs as a middle-order batter at a blistering strike rate of 185.

KKR’s focus on bowling has paid dividends

And both Russell and Narine are part of a KKR bowling unit that has been ruthless in the 17th IPL season, with four of their bowlers finding themselves in the current top 10 . Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who was the Player of the Match in the victory over MI in Kolkata, has complemented Narine perfectly in the middle overs, while Harshit Rana has been a revelation as a death overs bowler.

Even their 24.75-crore buy Mitchell Starc has bounced back with a series of solid performances after proving expensive early on in the season.

“KKR is the only team with five bowlers who have taken 10 wickets each and the sixth has taken 9 wickets. Show me a team that has six bowlers who have 60 wickets between them,” Sidhu added on Star Sports.

Whether they end up winning their third title this season or not, one thing’s for sure — things look brighter than ever in the KKR camp with Gambhir back in their fold. And even if they don’t win the title this season, there surely will be more to come in the years down the line.