3 KKR stars who fell off after a stellar season
Kolkata Knight Riders are the 3rd most successful team in the IPL after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They were champions in 2012 and 2014, with both titles coming under the captaincy of star Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir.
Under Gambhir's leadership, several KKR players punched above their weight. He managed to build a successful side without a lot of proven T20 superstars in the playing XI. He trusted players in specific roles and consistently backed Indian youngsters.
On that note, let's take a look at three KKR cricketers that had a promising start but eventually faded away or were no longer a part of the franchise.
#1 Manvinder Bisla (2012)
#Throwback to Manvinder Bisla's match-winning knock in the final of IPL 2012 https://t.co/hR8r7V3Yjh
Indian wicket-keeper batsman Manvinder Bisla made his IPL debut in 2010 for the Punjab Kings. He was also a part of the Deccan Chargers in 2009 when they won the title but he didn't play a game. In 2011, Bisla was signed by KKR. However, he only appeared in 5 games that season.
The 2012 season was one of his best performances in the tournament, as he scored 213 runs in 7 innings at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 133. Bisla's moment of fame came in the 2012 IPL final. He played one of the best innings ever in an IPL final while chasing—89* off just 48 deliveries.
What made the knock even more special was that it came against the then defending champions Chennai Super Kings at their fortress, Chepauk. He was adjudged the Player of the Match for this incredible match-winning performance.
In 2015, Bisla was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore. He played 2 matches for them, after which he didn't play an IPL game. He is currently not part of any IPL side. In October 2020, Bisla was drafted by Colombo Kings for the first season of the Lanka Premier League.
#2 Chris Woakes (2017)
English bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes was bought for 4 crores by KKR at the 2017 IPL auction. He termed it a life-changing moment and was extremely happy to get such an opportunity. He had an impressive season with the ball, taking 15 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 15.53 and an economy rate of 8.77.
Woakes' best performance of the season came against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Eden Gardens. He returned with figures of 3/6 in 2 overs - dismissing Chris Gayle, Stuart Binny and Samuel Badree as Bangalore collapsed to the lowest ever team score in the IPL— 49/10.
However, Woakes wasn't retained by KKR ahead of the 2018 IPL mega auction. Kolkata retained their star West Indies all-rounders Sunil Narine and Andre Russell instead. This meant that Woakes was part of the mega auction, where he was eventually bought by Bangalore for 7.4 crores.
#3 Nathan Coulter-Nile (2017)
Nathan Coulter-Nile's devastating opening spell was key to our win, his 2nd Man of the Match in only his 3rd game for us. #AmiKKR #KKRvRCB https://t.co/FKUW5DlrgD
Australian pace-bowling all-rounder Nathan Coulter-Nile made his IPL debut in 2013 for Mumbai Indians, where he only played one game. He also played for Delhi Capitals for the next couple of years before KKR bought him for 3.5 crores at the 2017 IPL auction. Coulter-Nile took 15 wickets in just 8 games at an average of 15.20 and an economy rate of 8.05.
Coulter-Nile's best performance of the season also came against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had returns of 3/21 in 3 overs as he picked up the big wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Kedar Jadhav. His opening spell was instrumental in ensuring Bangalore collapse for just 49, the lowest team total in the history of the tournament.
The Kolkata Knight Riders did not retain him either ahead of the 2018 IPL mega auction, as they preferred to trust two of their all-time great players in Narine and Russell. He was also bought by Bangalore in the mega auction, but due to injury concerns, he didn't start for them in a single game in both 2018 and 2019.