Kolkata Knight Riders
2009 season
CoachJohn Buchanan
CaptainBrendon McCullum
Ground(s)Eden Gardens, Kolkata
IPL8th
Most runsBrad Hodge (365)[1]
Most wicketsIshant Sharma (11)[2]
← 2008 2010 →

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a franchise cricket team based in Kolkata, India, which plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were one of the eight teams that competed in the 2009 IPL. They were captained by Brendon McCullum. Kolkata Knight Riders finished last in the IPL and did not qualify for the Champions League T20.

Background

Kolkata Knight Riders finished at the bottom of the ranking table with three wins and ten losses including a string of nine successive defeats. KKR was among the least active franchises during the off season, with no player trades. However, the team signed Mohnish Parmar during the period and also re-signed Ajantha Mendis to a long-term deal.

On 18 April 2009 a blog by an anonymous author claiming to be a member of the team surfaced on the web. The blog was controversial from the start, giving unflattering nicknames to players, coaches, and owners of KKR and other teams, telling sordid stories, and showing most of them in a very negative light.[3] The blog rapidly became popular and created a lot of media frenzy.[3] The blog worsened an already bad season for KKR, which lost most of their games, had controversies surrounding their coach, John Buchanan, and frequently changed captains, including Sourav Ganguly and Brendon McCullum based on a series of theories discussing "multiple-captains".[4] In August 2010, Bangalore based marketing specialist Anupam Mukerji revealed himself to be the person behind the blog. He said he had "never met a cricketer in his life", and was just making up stories. He never expected it to become this big, he remarked, adding that the Fake Player ended up getting legitimized by the media frenzy. He was inspired by the popularity of a similar blog by Fake Steve Jobs, and the Richard Gere movie The Hoax.[5][6][7]

KKR also set up a Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDW) in 2009 to spot local talent nationwide. This was based on BCCI's 2002–06 model which had discovered talents like MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. The wing was headed by Makarand Wainganker, who had first initiated the TRDW concept for the KSCA.[8] However, Wainganker eventually resigned after persistent disagreements with John Buchanan over team selection and Buchanan's "multiple captains" theory.[9]

Despite the poor on field performance of the team and its struggle at the bottom of the points table, the Kolkata Knight Riders were ranked as the richest team in the tournament with a brand value of $42.1 million.[10]

Indian Premier League

Season standings

Kolkata Knight Riders finished last in the league stage of IPL 2009.

Pos Team
 Pld W L NR Pts NRR
1 Delhi Daredevils 14 10 4 0 20 0.311
2 Chennai Super Kings 14 8 5 1 17 0.951
3 Royal Challengers Bangalore (R) 14 8 6 0 16 −0.191
4 Deccan Chargers (C) 14 7 7 0 14 0.203
5 Kings XI Punjab 14 7 7 0 14 −0.483
6 Rajasthan Royals 14 6 7 1 13 −0.352
7 Mumbai Indians 14 5 8 1 11 0.297
8 Kolkata Knight Riders 14 3 10 1 7 −0.789
Source: Full table on ESPNcricinfo
(C) = Eventual champion; (R) = Runner-up.
Winner, runner-up and best-performing semi-finalist in the group stage qualify for the 2009 Champions League Twenty20.

Match log

Date Opponent Venue Result
19 April Deccan Chargers Cape Town Lost by 8 wickets
21 April Kings XI Punjab Durban Won by 11 runs (D/L Method), MoM- Chris Gayle 44* (26)
23 April Rajasthan Royals Port Elizabeth Lost by 15 runs in Super Over
27 April Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth Lost by 92 runs
29 April Royal Challengers Bangalore Durban Lost by 5 wickets
1 May Mumbai Indians Durban Lost by 9 runs
3 May Kings XI Punjab East London Lost by 6 wickets
5 May Delhi Daredevils Durban Lost by 9 wickets
10 May Delhi Daredevils Johannesburg Lost by 7 Wickets
12 May Royal Challengers Bangalore Pretoria Lost by 6 wickets
16 May Deccan Chargers Port Elizabeth Lost by 6 wickets
18 May .Chennai Super Kings Pretoria Won by 7 wickets, MoM- Brad Hodge 71* (44)
20 May Rajasthan Royals Durban Won by 4 wickets, MoM- Laxmi Shukla 48* (46)
Overall record: 3–10. Failed to advance.

References

  1. ^ "Indian Premier League, 2009/ Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Indian Premier League, 2009/ Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Fake IPL player spins web of intrigue". The Guardian. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  4. ^ "In a hell called Kolkata Knight Riders". Open magazine. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Not KKR insider, Fake IPL Player is a B'lore executive". Times of India. 29 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  6. ^ "My book tells everything that the blog didn't: Fake IPL Player". indibloggies.org. 15 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  7. ^ Siddhanth Aney. "And the 'Fake IPL Player' is..." Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Wainganker joins KKR as TRDW chief". 1 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  9. ^ "In a hell called Kolkata Knight Riders". 30 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  10. ^ "IPL valued at $2.1 bn; KKR richest team". Retrieved 31 May 2012.
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