3 Unsung heroes who helped their team win the IPL

2. Rajat Bhatia (Kolkata Knight Riders, 2012 and 2014)

Kolkata Knight Riders was perhaps the most hyped team in 2008, with the team being owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and captained by none other than the Prince of Bengal, Sourav Ganguly. Unfortunately, KKR could not live up to the hype. Their fortunes changed when in 2011, Gautam Gambhir took over, and KKR won their first title in 2012. But they did not stop there. They had another fantastic season in 2014, and despite winning just 2 of their first 7 games, they won the title after a 9-match winning streak.

While KKR’s success could be attributed to the big shots like Sunil Narine, their skipper Gambhir and a number of others, a player who doesn’t get enough credit for being the silent assassin in both the seasons is Rajat Bhatia. Bhatia was the man Gambhir would fall back to whenever the team wanted to stem the flow of runs. While his 13 wickets from 17 games in 2012 and 12 wickets from 12 matches in 2014 may not seem extraordinary, he picked them at an economy of just 7.31 and 7.44 respectively.

The most defining statistic for Bhatia in his IPL career is that he bowled 250 overs between 6-15 overs phase of the game, at a mind-boggling economy of 7. Gambhir used him perfectly on the slow pitches of Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the UAE. Bhatia, who is a domestic veteran, would silently go about his job and before the batsmen of the opposition team would realise, he would be done with his quota of 4 overs.

He was also a reliable and experienced individual Gambhir could take advice from as both of them had played together for a number of years for their state team Delhi. Bhatia’s numbers may not have been flawless, and he was no showman, but the gritty and street smart cricketer was as essential a player for KKR in 2012 and 2014 as any.