Being a fan is one of the toughest jobs in the world. Deep in your heart, you know the heartbreaks will be more than the victory laps, every time your team goes out to play, your heart will skip a beat. Of course, the urge to leave everything then and there to watch your favourite team take the field will always be there.
As a fan, you need to be loyal and most importantly, patient. I am an East Bengal fan. So, in my case, the loyalty and the heartbreak factor have been constants.
So, what does an average fan expect? The answer is simple, fight. That’s why the 2003 and the 2023 Cricket World Cup finals still hurt. You will win matches, lose matches, but the fighting spirit makes the fans proud of their teams.
This is exactly what is missing from Kolkata Knight Riders this season so far. Although it’s way too early to foresee KKR’s future in this year’s Indian Premier League, the lack of fight has been glaring and a stark contrast to KKR’s dominance last season.
I have been supporting KKR since the inaugural edition of the IPL. Initially, my loyalty was a cumulation of three factors – Sourav Ganguly, the hometown hero, Shah Rukh Khan, somebody I look up to and then comes my city, Kolkata. But then, KKR moved on from Dada and not a single player from Bengal has been part of this franchise for a long, long time. This team has gone through its fair share of ups and downs throughout the seasons, but my loyalty did not leave the franchise. I think fans like us make the IPL what it is at the end of the day.
After winning two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, we had to wait for 10 long years. One factor was common though, a certain Gautam Gambhir. The southpaw led the team with flamboyance and flair, giving the franchise twin titles under his leadership.
Guru Gambhir came back as KKR’s mentor last season, and the rest is history. Be it promoting Sunil Narine to the top of the order and giving him freedom to play his natural game or picking Phil Salt ahead of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Gambhir immediately stood out as an out-of-the-box thinker.
KKR played immaculate cricket led by Shreyas Iyer, who also stood out as a captain. Particularly heartening was the first Qualifier and the final, where KKR simply brushed aside their opponents, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Not surprisingly, KKR management decided to stick to the winning core in the mega auction. They had two people missing though, two giant holes. Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer.
Today, KKR play the Sunrisers at their home ground Eden Gardens. Needless to say, KKR needs to up their game. The team selections have not been up to the mark with KKR still at sea with a huge Gautam Gambhir shaped void looming large. Much has been said and done about the pitch controversy at the Eden Gardens. Surprisingly (or is it?) KKR did not have a single pitch complaint last year when they dominated the IPL.
As loyal fans, we want answers. When will Rinku Singh come back to form? Why is Venkatesh Iyer (KKR picked him by splurging 23.75 crores at the mega auction) coming so low in the batting order and failing every time? Why has Andre Russell not bowled a single over in the first two games? What exactly is the role of Dwayne Bravo as a mentor in the team? If Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy misfire on a day, what is KKR’s plan B? Why did KKR open with Moeen Ali against the Rajasthan Royals when they had established openers like their skipper Ajinkya Rahane or their vice- captain Venkatesh?
Where is the replacement for the X factor fast bowler Mitchell Starc? Why is Spencer Johnson still in the starting XI despite looking listless in all the games? And most importantly, if the Eden Gardens wicket turns more than average, do KKR batters have it in them to tackle the Adam Zampas and the Ravichandran Ashwins?
Despite all these questions and frustrations, we will still turn up in the purple jersey and shout vociferously for KKR today as we have been doing all these years. But the team needs to step up to the expectations of their fans. Intent and fight distinguish champion teams from average teams. You may win, you may lose, but winning the hearts of your fans remains the key to the success of the franchise. As the KKR owner said many years back – ‘Haar ke jeetne walo ko Baazigar kehte hai.’