4 things KKR's campaign taught us this season

The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League was quite a special one for various reasons. One of them was the fact that up until the last game of the league stage, the 4th team to make the Playoffs was not clear.

Even on the last day, three teams had a chance to stay alive in the competition. However, the team which had qualified a day earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders, had a roller-coaster ride in the tournament.

KKR did not appear as a really strong side on paper and only a few backed them to play as well as they eventually did. Battling their own set of limitations, KKR put on a very brave show at the Indian Premier League 2018, and given the concerns they had before the start of the tournament, KKR must be very proud of the way they performed this season.

Although they could not go all the way to lift the cup, KKR have a lot of positives to take from this tournament.

Here are 4 things KKR’s campaign taught us.

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#4 Accept the situation, find a way to deal with it

Starc was ruled out of injury

KKR had a decent auction with a few good buys but had the smallest squad in this year’s IPL. This implied that the Knights had limited resources which they needed to mix and match and try and find the right balance at the same time not waste too many matches.

The fact that some of the key players on whom the franchise had shown faith in at the auctions got injured did not help their case either.

Ace pacer Mitchell Starc and U-19 star Kamlesh Nagarkoti were ruled out because of injuries and Chris Lynn looked a pale shadow of himself in the initial phase of the tournament. But KKR came back rather strongly, finding the right balance somehow and then going ahead to stitch a few wins together in order to qualify.

The point worth noting is that KKR never lost hope, did not live in denial and found a way to deal with the situations instead and that proved enough to make a place in the final four.

#3 Keep working hard, results will take care of themselves

DK is at the best phase of his 14-year-old International Career

Failures can be frustrating at times. It is always an easier option to give up when experiencing a situation where nothing seems to be going your way. But the results of persisting with hard work and being patient enough to wait for one’s chance can be worth it. Dinesh Karthik’s case is a classic example.

Although Karthik made his international debut in 2004, this seems to be the most productive phase of his career when he suddenly made a place for himself in the National limited overs format and as a result of his international experience got a chance to lead KKR.

Karthik did a commendable job when leading his team and it was his inspiring leadership that won KKR a lot of games when they looked down and out. Years of hard work at the domestic level, when nobody was watching, has finally yielded results for the Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman.

#2 Spot the ability in your people, back them to achieve goals

Lynn was not at his best in the initial phase of the league

The KKR think-tank spotted out who could do what for them in the team and persisted with their well-defined roles. They knew that it was a matter of time before the team gets together as a unit and that’s what exactly happened.

Even though Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine were on and off kind of players in the beginning, but KKR persisted with them and even played them as an opening duo. Lynn and Narine repaid the faith shown upon them and whenever they got going at the top, KKR seemed to be a much better unit.

Similarly, Robin Uthappa was persisted with, and even though he would get off to a good start and throw it away, his experience was vital for the team and he indeed come good when the team needed him. Most players in the team enjoyed this freedom of expressing themselves out there in the middle.

#1 Young and old can play together

Shubman scored 203 runs in 13 games

KKR were confident about their U-19 players right from the time of the auctions. Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill did have to wait for their chances but when they got their turn, they made it count. While Mavi was impressive in patches, Shubman made some useful contributions lower down the order.

9 matches, 5 wickets for Mavi and 200-odd runs in 13 games for Shubman may not tell the entire story. Given the potential in these kids, they can only get better from here on.

While Mavi and Gill went about their game, experienced campaigners like Lynn, Narine, Uthappa, Karthik, Chawla brought the balance in terms of experience and perhaps the big match temperament. Mavi and Gill seem to be the players of the future.