OPINION
Follow UsIf KKR games were reality show episodes that aired weekly, chances are that the show would be canceled just a handful of episodes in due to heavy backlash from viewers. Why? Due to its obviousness and predictability. Nearly every single episode is the same.
There’ll first be a single-digit opening stand, with either one or both openers perishing cheaply. Then there’ll be some authoritative strokeplay from the skipper, Shreyas Iyer. Once the field spreads out, teams will bombard the Indian batters in the XI with short balls, and in no time the score will be 70-ish for 4 or 5. By this point, the required run rate would have climbed over 12.
With 8 or so overs left, the Knight Riders would look like they are down and out, but a couple of monster sixes from the willow of Andre Russell would then serve as a beacon of light. For the next 4 or 5 overs, Russell will have lakhs of people longing for a miracle to happen, but eventually he’ll go down fighting.
Sounds familiar, yeah?
On Saturday, this exact script played out at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Indeed, you could see it coming from a mile away.
Let’s not talk about the ebbs and flows of that game; it was basically the same as every other KKR chase.
Let us, however, talk about the problem that continues to plague KKR: the sustained underperformance of the Indian core that keeps letting the team down.
Ahead of the auction, the Knight Riders spent a combined sum of INR 16 crore on Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer. And at the auction table, the franchise splashed a total sum of INR 27.5 crore to purchase three players — Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and Shivam Mavi — two of whom had already spent multiple years in the team.
The idea was not simply to build an Indian core, but to assemble a group of players that were all ‘ready’. And at the end of the auction, it did seem like KKR had achieved their target, at least on paper — even if they’d overpaid for certain individuals.
Why KKR are currently reeling at 7th in the points table, then, having lost four matches in a row, is because consistent contributions from the team’s Indian core has been non-existent.
It was also what led to their loss against the Gujarat Titans on Saturday as none of Iyer(s), Rana, Chakravarthy and Mavi were able to make a telling contribution that sealed the game for the side.
It would be unfair to pair Shreyas Iyer with all the others, for he’s actually done reasonably well, averaging over 35 while striking at over 140. None of the other batters in the list, for instance, average above 20. But in a middle-order that’s been longing for a glue, Iyer has been unable to deliver at the same rate he did for Delhi, at least when it comes to run accumulation.
The skipper, on Saturday, had the golden opportunity to help his side snap the losing streak, with the Knight Riders chasing a target almost tailor-made for his style of batting.
Iyer walked in under severe pressure, with KKR having lost 3 wickets inside the first 26 balls, but despite the scoreboard burden, there was an opportunity for him to make amends for what happened the other night against Rajasthan where, on the back of his dismissal, his side imploded.
Iyer, though, would only last 15 balls before tamely nicking off to Yash Dayal. He would end up continuing the unwanted streak of having not posted back-to-back 30+ scores in the season.
More than Iyer, however, it is the form of Varun Chakravarthy that has left the Knight Riders startled. Last year, Varun was one of the primary reasons for KKR reaching the final. He was their bank, and a major reason for them opting to retain the Tamil Nadu man was the fact of him showcasing his consistency by backing up a fine 2020 season with an outstanding 2021 campaign.
This time around, it just hasn’t happened for Varun. He began the season in fine fashion but he’s gotten progressively worse. In his last 12 overs this season, the 30-year-old has now conceded 145 runs while picking a solitary wicket.
Against Gujarat, too, the mystery spinner was taken to the cleaners as the batters collected 26 runs off his first 3 before skipper Iyer decided against giving him a fourth. For the fourth game in a row, Varun conceded a six within the first three balls of his spell, something that pretty much ended up setting the tone.
It is bad enough having one key player going through a torrid run of form, but KKR have two literal passengers on the batting front, in Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana. Retained and purchased (respectively) for the same amount, Iyer and Rana have averaged 18.00 and 17.87 respectively and have been walking wickets throughout the season. The pattern continued against Gujarat as the southpaws, between them, accumulated 19 runs off 24 balls.
The management have tried everything they can, deploying them at different positions and in different game-situations, but the duo have simply not clicked.
That KKR are reeling at seventh despite Russell having the kind of season he is having — average of 45.40 and SR of 180.15 — is a reflection of just how poor the likes of Iyer and Rana have been.
The only player who cannot be blamed too much is Shivam Mavi, for he’s yet to have an extended run in the side. But it is worth remembering that KKR paid a staggering sum of 7.25 crore to acquire Mavi’s services. He’s had his moments, like the penultimate over in the RR game where he gave away just 5 runs, but you expect a 7.25 cr signing, who’s playing his fourth IPL season, to be impacting games and not just doing the acceptable bare minimum.
Even in hindsight, it is hard to be too critical of KKR’s auction strategy. Barring perhaps Mavi, all the players they went after were either established names, or those who’d already made a significant impact in the competition. What’s troubling the franchise is the unprecedented situation of all these core Indian players underperforming — or at least not performing to their potential — at the same time.
3 wins from the first 8 games means that KKR will need to win 5 of their next 6 encounters to make it for the playoffs. For that to happen, however, they will need their Indian core to come to the party.
