Decoding Kolkata Knight Riders’ leadership crisis in Shreyas Iyer’s absence

IPL 2021 File image (Source: Twitter/@KKRiders)

Following three pandemic-ridden seasons, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are returning to the City of Joy for the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The purple ship has been through some rough water in the past few years. Despite reaching the final under Eoin Morgan in a rather miraculous way back in 2021, the two-time former champions have been marred by inconsistency and lack of depth in the squad.

As a result, they finished seventh last season in a 10-team table. The management has tried to address the situation by bringing in Chandrakant Pandit, the ‘Dronacharya of the Indian domestic circuit’, as the head coach. And his assignment with the franchise is starting with the quest for an interim skipper in the wake of Shreyas Iyer’s career-threatening lower-back injury.

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer: India's new middle-order mainstay across formats

KKR paid a whopping Rs 12.25 crore for Iyer in the 2022 IPL auction. He was considered to be a long-term investment for the franchise, both as a player and as a leader. And following a below-par performance last year, KKR were banking on the Mumbai boy to deliver the goods in this coming season under the guidance of his former coach Pandit. However, his recurring lower-back injury, which resurfaced during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has jeopardised all those plans.

As per the latest update from the medical team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the KKR captain is in danger of missing all of IPL 2023. Though he is not slated to undergo surgery as of now, Iyer’s rehab is bound to be time consuming. He is currently under the supervision of the board’s medical experts at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and from there, reportedly, the KKR think tank expects him to provide his “inputs” regarding the team proceedings.

Nevertheless, let's now address the leadership vacuum that has been created in the KKR camp due to Iyer’s unavailability. And to some extent, it has caught the franchise off guard.

Some may argue that with three international captains (Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das) in the squad, people are exaggerating the situation. But frankly, they are not as none of these three players has a secured spot in the playing eleven throughout the season. So these internationals are clearly out of the equation.

Now among those who have a permanent place in the side, Sunil Narine recently led the Abu Dhabi franchise of the Knight Riders in the inaugural International League T20. However, under his leadership the team managed to win just one game out of 10 and finished at the bottom of the table in the six-team competition. Hence, Narine’s recent track record as a captain and his introverted character may go against him.

The other option is Andre Russell, who has leadership experience with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League and Rajshahi Royals in the Bangladesh Premier League. But again, the counterargument here is that compared to these tournaments, the stakes are much higher in the IPL.

Along with that, the duration of IPL is much longer and with all the travelling involved, it is much more tiring too, especially for an injury-prone player like Russell. Also, KKR are already over-dependent on his all-round skills and giving him an extra responsibility will only increase his workload.

It is also understood that head coach Pandit is not very keen on an overseas player for the captaincy role. He believes at this level the skipper needs to be a good man-manager and an excellent communicator. But with an overseas player being in charge, communication can be a hindrance for some of the domestic cricketers.

So, from the Indian options, Nitish Rana seems to be one of the frontrunners. He has been associated with the franchise since 2018 and has led Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with reasonable success. The dark horse for the role is Shardul Thakur, who has been roped in from Delhi Capitals for a tidy Rs 10.75 crore during the last trading window.

Despite this being his debut season for KKR, the one thing which will go in his favour in the leadership debate is his equation with Pandit during his stint as the Mumbai head coach.

A final call regarding KKR’s interim captaincy is expected in the next couple of days. Nevertheless, whoever may eventually lead the boys on the field, rest assured that head coach Pandit will be the non-playing captain of this team.

Sandipan Banerjee is an independent cricket journalist based out of Kolkata. He tweets at @im_sandipan