IPL 2019: Kolkata Knight Riders announce its support staff for the upcoming edition

The Knights will play their first match against SRH on March 24.

Published - 11 Mar 2019, 12:07 IST | Updated - 11 Mar 2019, 12:07 IST

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Having won the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL) two times, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is the third-most successful team in the T20 tournament. Both of their victories came under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, who retired from competitive cricket last December, in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Prior to that, the Knights had rather forgettable outings in the event.

Last year, KKR got a new captain in Dinesh Karthik and he didn’t flatter to deceive, albeit he strained to find his feet in the initial phase of the tournament. However, as the extravaganza progressed, he came into his own and delivered both as the skipper and as the batsmen. The wicketkeeper-batsman led the Knights to the playoffs where they bowed out after the second Qualifier.

They lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata where the young Rashid Khan churned out an all-round performance for the Orange Army. Prior to this edition’s auction, Kolkata freed a lot of players, including the likes of Tom Curran, Mitchell Johnson, and many others, from their services. Even in the auction, they went about their business clinically.

KKR roped in the Windies T20I captain- Carlos Brathwaite for a hefty amount. The fast-bowling department was also taken care of as they drafted in Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney and Anrich Nortje for the forthcoming season. The Knight Riders also have the likes of the hulk-like Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Chris Lynn, all of whom can turn out to be game changers on their days.

Mysore names the support staff

The Karthik-led Knights will play their first match against the Sunrisers on Sunday, March 24 in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the franchise recently named the support staff for the next edition. Venky Mysore, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the renowned team, took to Twitter and put forth the names of the personnel, who would be working behind the scenes.