First the city was replaced as their home. Then its name was taken out of the team. Then the Prince was dethroned. Amazing...how fast the Kolkata Knight Riders' tale is turning into a political drama.
The City of Joy perhaps felt the most blessed when the Badshah and the Prince teamed up together. That John "Buck" Buchanan was roped in as the coach and Joy Bhattacharya as the Director of Operations added to the cricketing and business appeal of Brand KKR. The blitzkrieg of Brendom McCullum, the controversy surrounding Shoaib Akhtar, the Prince of Kolkata, Shahrukh and his friends...the heady mix ensured KKR was the most 'in' team of the season. Rajasthan went on to win one match after the other, Priety continued hugging Yuvi, Sachin kept on postponing his IPL debut...Shahrukh and his Knights kept on generating public interest despite their on-field anitcs (or the lack of it?)
Everything was going perfect for the Knights...untill one fine day when the media reported a growing difference between the team’s charismatic owner and its talismanic captain. Suddenly the KKR camp became a Machiavellian story. Apparently Shahrukh and John Buchanan had teamed up against Bengal’s favorite boy. And then when the grapevines were bursting with Dada going the same way as Laxman or Dravid, he came up with a brilliant knock in KKR’s final game. It didn’t save the match, but it apparently had saved him his crown.
IPL ended and the 3 principal characters of the KKR drama went their separate ways. Where Buchanan started talent scouting camps, Shahrukh built a six pack and Sourav started judging a cheerleader reality show.
Cut to March, 2009 when Mr. Modi finally found a place secure enough to host IPL Season 2 and consequently brought together (again) the 3 principal characters of the KKR drama. The owner was happy that IPL was finally happening, the captain was happy he could hit some more balls (!) and Buck…what was he thinking? He was the busiest of them all…always had been since Season 1 had ended…plotting the ouster of Sourav. What's that ol' Bengali saying that two tigers can't rule the same forest?
But of course he couldn’t do it outright or he wouldn’t have been able to return to Kolkata. So he floated his multiple captain theory. Eh? Did you say? Well, don’t. Its John Buchanan’s theory – the same guy who had taken Australia to their pinnacle, the same coach whom Shane Warne had called a “goose with verbal diarrhoea”!
The question is – is Shahrukh Khan contemplating taking the Kolkata out of the Kolkata Knight Riders? Why else would he want to call his team Knight Riders for IPL Season 2 (as has been reported in the media)? Why else would he give the green signal to John Buchanan’s logic-defying theory? I am tempted to go into the pros and cons of the theory, but for the fact that it will be a pointless deliberation. Coming back to my question, it will be unfortunate if Shahrukh decides to shift the Knights out of Kolkata. Agreed that Dalmiya’s return to the CAB has created problems galore for King Khan, but is it feasible for Shahrukh to take KKR (or Knight Riders, as it stands now) out of Kolkata? The major cricket centers of the country already have a team representing them in the IPL. Oh….hold on…Ahmedabad is still open!
So what now King Khan, Ahmedabad Knight Riders? There’s just one li’l problem – the Prince of Kolkata ain’t quite the guy to take things lying down. And he certainly has the ability to think and act like Machiavelli’s Prince.
As IPL Season 2 inches closer all I can say is that “Picture abhi baaki hain mere dost!”
IPL ended and the 3 principal characters of the KKR drama went their separate ways. Where Buchanan started talent scouting camps, Shahrukh built a six pack and Sourav started judging a cheerleader reality show.
Cut to March, 2009 when Mr. Modi finally found a place secure enough to host IPL Season 2 and consequently brought together (again) the 3 principal characters of the KKR drama. The owner was happy that IPL was finally happening, the captain was happy he could hit some more balls (!) and Buck…what was he thinking? He was the busiest of them all…always had been since Season 1 had ended…plotting the ouster of Sourav. What's that ol' Bengali saying that two tigers can't rule the same forest?
But of course he couldn’t do it outright or he wouldn’t have been able to return to Kolkata. So he floated his multiple captain theory. Eh? Did you say? Well, don’t. Its John Buchanan’s theory – the same guy who had taken Australia to their pinnacle, the same coach whom Shane Warne had called a “goose with verbal diarrhoea”!
The question is – is Shahrukh Khan contemplating taking the Kolkata out of the Kolkata Knight Riders? Why else would he want to call his team Knight Riders for IPL Season 2 (as has been reported in the media)? Why else would he give the green signal to John Buchanan’s logic-defying theory? I am tempted to go into the pros and cons of the theory, but for the fact that it will be a pointless deliberation. Coming back to my question, it will be unfortunate if Shahrukh decides to shift the Knights out of Kolkata. Agreed that Dalmiya’s return to the CAB has created problems galore for King Khan, but is it feasible for Shahrukh to take KKR (or Knight Riders, as it stands now) out of Kolkata? The major cricket centers of the country already have a team representing them in the IPL. Oh….hold on…Ahmedabad is still open!
So what now King Khan, Ahmedabad Knight Riders? There’s just one li’l problem – the Prince of Kolkata ain’t quite the guy to take things lying down. And he certainly has the ability to think and act like Machiavelli’s Prince.
As IPL Season 2 inches closer all I can say is that “Picture abhi baaki hain mere dost!”
Sure, it'd dilute the whole essence of the team that otherwise carries a name in KKR, which is lethal, aggresive and simultaneously represents both the culture and panache (courtesy SRK and of course the players)...there won't be any1 chanting "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbore" anymore if the name suffers, at least not I!
ReplyDeleteit started well...gud points abt the drama between the three...but in the end u changed direction to KKR moving out of Kolkata...i think u ought to have concentrated on the original line a bit more n given a more conclusive take on that...just an opinion!
ReplyDeletewell....to start thngs, i guess thr is a scope of judging ths entire drama witha little bit of reality check. Dont u thnk it has become a habitual action for us to go in a 'bong bong' way whnevr our prince or, lion (whatevr u might call him)is on the verge of getting dethrone. I dnt thnk here its a case of 'two tigers can't rule the same forest'.Thr is a good enough cricketing reason behind it. Saurav alrdy retired frm international cricket, never had much expernc in t20 format, fitness is biggest concern (alwz been)spcly in ths format.y would sharukh wanty to invest on somethn (consider the 5 cr base price of saurav)whch defy common sense ( cricketing sense ofcrs. Ths is wat buchanan, sahrukh nd the entire managemnt understands, even saurav too. So all ths multiple captain theory nd all is just a polite way of keep on reminding saurav the actual picure. They can not take the route of hydrabd or banglore coz they know how the loyalty factor is associated with saurav nd people of bengal. Nd taking out the name kolkata is just a first step creating the brand Knight Riders grow independently. Coz kkr has to grow beyond dada nd his fanatics in the years to come. 'Kyonke pura picture main dada nehi hai mere dost'.
ReplyDeletefrom ICL to IPL?
ReplyDeletedada..
ReplyDeletewell bengalies have always been such good world citizen that they have lost their identity in their home ground only...with due respect to soumyo i want to tell him its not only a mere bong bong matter its something more than that....dont we all think that saurav ganguly can expect something more than what the indian panel has given to him all through the years since his inception in international cricket.and talking of the brand factor there is nobody in kkr who can brand kkr bettr than saurav himself.so i completely agree with ritam about what he expressed.its a sheer politics again which unfortunately is not leaving still here in kolkata..and believe me thats bad news for us.....who can be world citizen but would llove to be a bengali first....
ReplyDeletethank you ritam
dear joy, i knw how much do u love ur bengal, so am i. how much ur passionate abt saurav, so am i. Nd there is no denying tht no one else other than saurav can brand KKR better than him. Nd that exactly is the problem, KKR has to grow without the brand saurav. They need the fans nd the support in bengal even when saurav is not thr nd unfortunately which is inevetble. Ths is not because of any politics or any sheer fowl which everytime we shout abt but becoz of sheer cricketing nd to add business reason mentioned in my earlier comment. U boast urself (many bengalies)abt being a world citizen, nd even i belv so, nd to be a world citizen in true sense first thing which we need to do is to o lay off our one directional chauvinistic approach. By now I guess even a pukka politicians also would have been tired to play politics against saurav. Plssssssss, stop crying fowl everytime. Entire world has much more important things to do other than playing politics against saurav.
ReplyDeleteDada First of all the IPL is been held in another country..which it self is the end of IPL itself...
ReplyDeleteAnd with all these Controversys none can think where this IPL is gonna go..
Coz one day even the same things gonna happen to these politicians and Celbs.