It was rain in Kolkata that granted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) a lifeline in the match against Punjab Kings. And it was rain last night in Bengaluru that robbed them of the little chance they had of making the play-offs. It was a tame end to a campaign that never really took off.
KKR, I must confess, were one of my teams for the top four. A middle order with Andre Russell, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh, and the spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy – you could almost sense it was a good side. Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora aren’t pushovers, and I had argued that it was a bowling line-up good enough to lead the campaign. But then, cricket has its funny ways and KKR never really managed to get going. The pitch issue did not help, and despite a couple of strong wins late in the competition, it is time to go back to the drawing board.
And that’s where the management becomes accountable. Why was Russell consistently under-bowled? What took KKR so long to understand that T20 batting has changed and they needed to be more aggressive at the top of the order? Why was Russell not batted at No. 5 and given more overs to settle in when it is now known that he will need a few balls before he starts to take the attack to the bowlers?
More and more questions can be asked, but the truth is none of it really matters anymore. But then, the think tank can’t just recede into a cocoon and close the doors on the fans. The fans spend money to go and watch them play and, in the absence of that opportunity, consume the action on television and digital. And most importantly, none of them will stop being KKR fans next season. The fans have never deserted the franchise. They never switched loyalties. They haven’t stopped singing Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re, nor have they stopped wearing the KKR gear while sitting down to support the team. If they have remained steadfast in their loyalty, they do deserve to be taken seriously and given some explanations.
Should KKR look beyond Chandrakant Pandit? Without Gautam Gambhir as mentor in 2023, Pandit wasn’t able to do much. And now, it has happened again. Is the head coach in need of fresh ideas? With Dwayne Bravo, Abhishek Nayar, Ottis Gibson and Bharat Arun already in the dug-out, what exactly is Pandit’s role? How does he make a telling difference to the team?
In sport, when things don’t go well, the first thing that is needed is acceptance. Accept that things weren’t good enough. Don’t blame the pitch. Don’t blame the curator, and don’t blame everyone around. Accept that you weren’t as good in 2025. Only if you accept can you introspect. And with introspection will come redemption. For 2026 to be different, KKR need to rebuild.
Take Neeraj Chopra, for example. He knew the Paris Olympics did not go to plan. He accepted failure. Went back to the drawing board and made the changes. Got a new coach and got better. Now, he is back at his best. KKR need a reboot, and it could easily be a much better season next year.