Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is one of the most famous franchises in the IPL. The two time champions had a tough time to begin with. The initial years were a mixed bag with inconsistent performances, failing to qualify for the playoffs until 2011. And it wasn’t until Gautam Gambhir, who steered them into a golden era, winning their first IPL title in 2012, defeating the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final. Today, in this article, we will find out about Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024 who they have had previously and how they fared.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024
Saurav Ganguly: (2008-2010)
Sourav Ganguly, the legendary Indian captain, led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during two seasons of the IPL- 2008 and 2010. His tenure saw mixed results, marked by both initial promise and later disappointment. KKR’s first season in the IPL started with a bang as Brendon McCulum smashed the Royal Challengers Bangalore all over the park enroute to reaching a milestone score of 158* runs of 78 balls, the second highest runs ever scored by any player in the IPL.
But soon things went downhill as the team finished sixth at the points table. The following season of 2009 KKR became the first ever team to introduce the multiple-captains scheme as Brendon McCulum was made the captain. But after a shameful show of results in the opening matches of the 2009 season when Kolkata suffered a run of nine consecutive losses, Saurav Ganguly was restored as the Captain for the rest of the season as they finished bottom of the table. But following another disappointing season in the IPL 2010, Sauav Ganguly was shown the door with a winning percentage of 48.14% with 13 wins in 27 matches.
Brendon McCulum: (2009)
Following an exemplary season with the bat in the founding season, the KKR management sought Brendon McCulum for the Captaincy in the 2009 season. However, Brendon ‘Baz’ McCulum failed at turning the tide for KKR as the team succumbed to their worst ever performance in the IPL history finishing last at the points table unable to secure double digits even with a winning percentage of 26.92% and winning just 3 matches in total. It was reported that Baz had no control of the dressing room either and cracks appeared. Subsequently he was replaced by Saurav Ganguly in the captaincy role and was eventually axed ahead of the next season.
Gautam Gambhir: (2011-18)
Kolkata Knight Riders broke the bank for Gautam Gambir Leading to the IPL 2011 and it would be safe to say that his appointment as the KKR’s skipper turned their fortunes. KKR managed to reach the playoffs in 2011, after three consecutive failures. The Knights improved further the following season and became the champions for the first time.
Even though KKR faced a setback in 2013 and finished at the 7th position, they rebounded in the following season to win the IPL 2014 for the second time in three years. The team reached the playoffs twice in the next three seasons, from 2015 to 2017 before Gautam Gambhir called it a day to his IPL career. Gautam Gambhir finished his tenure as a Captain for KKR with a formidable winning percentage of 57.43%, captaining the side for 122 matches and winning 69 of them.
Dinesh Karthik: (2018-2020)
KKR signed the veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik ahead of the 2018 season, in absence of a genuine leader on the side. The Tamil player had a respectable season in his debut as captain of an IPL team. In 2018, Kolkata Knight Riders made it to the playoffs, but narrowly missed securing a playoff spot the following season in 2019, finishing 5th.
Kolkata Knight Riders were having a topsy-turvy season, in 2020. In the meantime Dinesh Karthik, the Captain was struggling with the bat as well. So, he handed over the captaincy to Eoin Morgan midway through the season. And the Men in Purple failed to reach the playoffs another season consecutively finishing fifth. Dinesh Karthik finished with a winning percentage of 52.70% with 19 wins in 32 matches.
Eoin Morgan: (2020-2021)
Fresh off winning a World Cup, Eoin Morgan was appointed the KKR’s skipper midway through the 2020 season. The team had a difficult beginning under his leadership, in the league as the wins were difficult to come by. However, their luck flipped completely when the prestigious tournament was moved to the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Everyone was left stunned as KKR reached the finals but lost to Chennai Super Kings. Although Eoin Morgan resurrected the KKR side in the 2nd half of the season, the franchise chose not to retain him due to his poor batting form.
Shreyas Iyer: (2022 – Present)
Prior to the IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders bought Shreyas Iyer in the mega-auction. In order to inject youth in the squad as well as keeping the future in mind, Shreyas Iyer was appointed as the Captain of the Knights. The right-handed batter’s tenure started on a positive note as the Kolkata Knight Riders won three of their first four games.
But everything went downhill thereafter as the team lost five consecutive games to bow out of the competition. Shreyas Iyer had a winning percentage of 42.85%, winning 6 out of their 14 matches. Eventually, Kolkata finished 7th in the points table with six wins and eight losses in 14 matches. Also Read: Shreyas Iyer IPL 2024 Price, Net Worth, Annual Income, Sponsors, Cars, Houses, Properties, Charities, Etc.
Nitish Rana: (2023)
Nitish Rana captained the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This was due to the regular skipper, Shreyas Iyer, missing the tournament due to a back injury. KKR had a challenging season under Rana’s captaincy, finishing 7th in the league table and failing to qualify for the playoffs. Nitish Rana had a winning percentage of 42.85%, winning 6 out of their 14 matches. KKR recently announced Shreyas Iyer as their captain for the 2024 season, with Rana being named the vice-captain. Also Read: Nitish Rana IPL 2024 Price, Net Worth, Annual Income, Sponsors, Cars, Houses, Properties, Charities, Etc.