Kolkata Knight Riders

Franchise history

In 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) created the cricket tournament Indian Premier League, based on the Twenty20 format of the game. Eight teams participated in the inaugural tournament held in April – June 2008. The teams representing the eight different cities of India were put up on auction in Mumbai on 20 February 2008. The team representing Kolkata was eventually bought by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's company Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta for a price of $75.09 million, equal to approximately ₹2.98 billion at that time. Sourav Ganguly, a native of West Bengal and former captain of the Indian national team, was named the Icon player for the team. The name of the team is a reference to the popular 1980s American television series Knight Rider.

Brand

Valuation

According to Forbes in 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders were the third most valuable team in the IPL behind MI and CSK with a valuation of $1.1 billion.

Livery

Initially, when the Kolkata Knight Riders were first introduced in 2008, the logo of the team consisted of a blazing golden Viking helmet against a black background with the name of the team written in gold next to it. However, the black background was changed to purple in the third season. It was in 2012 that the current logo, which has a blazing purple Corinthian helmet trimmed with gold, with Kolkata Knight Riders written within a shield, was introduced.

The tagline of the team was "All the King's Men" during the first four seasons. However, in the fifth it was replaced by "New Dawn, New Knights". The team's official colours were black and gold during the first two seasons. At the time, Khan said that "golden symbolizes spirit of life and black presents the Goddess Kali." It was later changed to purple and gold during the third season and was kept so. The jersey was created by Bollywood fashion designer Manish Malhotra.

The main theme of the team, Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re (we will act, fight, and win!), was scored by Vishal–Shekhar duo. A Knight Riders album featuring several singers and music composers, including Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri, was also created.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Multinational communications corporation Nokia was the official founding sponsor of the Kolkata Knight Riders and remained their principal sponsor until 2014. In 2015, Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Gionee took over as their principal sponsor and signed a three-year deal worth ₹540 million (US$5.6 million). In 2018, Nokia returned as the main sponsor of the Knight Riders, signing a two-year deal. Star Plus, Reebok, HDIL, Kit Kat, SB Nation, Doublemint, SAP AG, Asian Paints, Red FM 93.5, Seiko, U.S. Polo Assn., Uber, Philips, Dish TV, Sansui Electric, Ola Cabs, Exide, SRMB Steel, TTK Prestige, Acko General Insurance, JSW Paints, Manipal Hospitals, FanCode, Listerine, Tecno Mobile, Radio Nasha, Lux Cozi, Ibibo, Sprite, Pepsi, Bira 91, Royal Stag, Pocari Sweat, Sony Music India, Greenply, MoneyGram, Unacademy, Colgate and Radio One have all formerly been either co-sponsors or partners.

In 2020 and 2021, MPL became their principal sponsor. In 2022, the principal sponsor of the Kolkata Knight Riders was the Esports app WinZO Sports. For the 2023 season, their main sponsor was the fantasy sports app MyFab11. In 2024 and 2025, their main shirt sponsors were Dream11.

As of 2026, they have partnerships with BKT Tyres, Thums Up, Big Ant Studios, RR Kabel, Amul, The Telegraph, Fever FM, Google Gemini, Google AI Mode, Kingfisher and Battlegrounds Mobile India among others. They also have co-sponsorship deals with Jio, Google Pay, Vikram Solar and Amaron.

Reebok was the official kit supplier for the Knight Riders from 2008 to 2013. For 2014 and 2015, U.S. Polo Assn. manufactured kits for the team. In 2021, Indian apparel brand Wrogn Active became the official merchandising partner of the Knight Riders.

Rivalries

The Knight Riders have historically been a successful franchise in the IPL. This success has led them to have many rivalries with other teams.

Mumbai Indians

Both teams play in major markets, with Mumbai Indians based in Mumbai and Kolkata Knight Riders based in Kolkata. Mumbai Indians is the most successful IPL franchise with five championships. However, until Mumbai's third championship, both teams were tied with two championships each. In the first two seasons of the IPL, Mumbai swept Kolkata in all four games. It wasn't until the 2010 IPL season that Kolkata won against Mumbai. Both teams have been captained by Indian cricket legends at one point (Mumbai was captained by Sachin Tendulkar and Kolkata was captained by Sourav Ganguly). This rivalry has often played out in Mumbai's favour, as they have won 22 games compared to Kolkata's seven wins. They have faced each other twice in the playoffs.

In 2011, both teams played against each other in the Eliminator round, marking their first playoff appearances. This was the first time that the two teams met in the playoffs. Mumbai won the match by four wickets and advanced to the next round, ultimately losing to the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

In 2012, both teams were chasing a playoff spot in the tournament. The game started poorly for KKR as their batting team struggled to score runs. However, KKR picked up the pace and ended the innings with 140/7. Mumbai, initially in a strong position at 60/2 with more than 10 overs left, unexpectedly collapsed, finishing their innings at 108 all out. Sunil Narine was named Man of the Match with 4 wickets, and KKR eliminated MI from the playoffs. KKR won its first championship that season. Knight Riders' owner Shah Rukh Khan was handed a 5-year ban at Wankhede Stadium, the home ground of Mumbai Indians. He was accused of walking on the field post-match and abusing the security guards. In 2015, the ban was lifted.

Mumbai and Kolkata faced off in the opening match of the 2015 season. Mumbai batted first and scored 168/3. This charge was led by captain Rohit Sharma with his 98 runs. Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir scored 57 runs, leading his team to victory. Suryakumar Yadav's 46 runs were crucial to KKR's chase.

In 2017, Mumbai earned its 100th T20 win against KKR. Later that season, both teams faced each other in the playoffs in the Qualifier 2 round. KKR had a poor batting performance, posting 107 runs and being all out. Mumbai was able to capitalise and won the match. Mumbai went on to the finals to beat Rising Pune Supergiant to claim their third championship.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The rivalry between the Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru is the oldest in the Indian Premier League history. The inaugural match of the inaugural edition was played between both teams, in which KKR clinched a huge victory by a margin of 140 runs. Brendon McCullum was awarded the first-ever man-of-the-match award of the tournament, due to his blistering 158* (73), dominating the whole RCB bowling unit.

In the 2009 edition, the Royal Challengers won in both encounters against the Knight Riders. During their second meet, which was also the tournament's 100th match, Ross Taylor played a notable innings, scoring 81* (33), contributing significantly to RCB's victory by six wickets.

In the 2012 edition, KKR was at the lower half of the IPL table and needed to win the crucial match against RCB. KKR won the toss and chose to bat first. Skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front with 93 (51). In reply, RCB lost wickets at regular intervals, as only Chris Gayle managed to put up a fight with a score of 86 (58). The next time they met, Gambhir again was the thorn in RCB's team as he top scored for KKR at a tough pitch, taking KKR to a competitive total of 165. RCB in reply made 129, as Lakshmipathy Balaji ripped through their line-up with a 4/18 in 4 overs.

In the 2015 IPL edition, RCB and KKR took part in a match reduced due to rain. It was reduced to a 10-over match. RCB won the toss and elected to field. For KKR, Andre Russell was the top scorer as he scored 45 off just 17 balls. He took them to a score of 111/4 in just 10 overs. Mitchell Starc took one wicket for 15 runs in 2 overs. In reply, RCB were at 0–48 at 3.4 overs before Brad Hogg got Chris Gayle out. After that, RCB stuttered and started to collapse as they were reduced to 3–81 in 7.2 overs. When Virat Kohli got out to Andre Russell, the match looked to be over for RCB. However, Mandeep Singh scored 45 off just 18 balls, hitting 3 sixes and 4 fours.

In the 2017 IPL edition, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore again faced each other twice. In the first match between them, RCB got KKR out for a score of 131 after KKR had made a strong start of 0–48 in 3.3 overs. However, KKR dismissed RCB for 49, the lowest team score in the history of IPL. Nathan Coulter Nile, Colin de Grandhomme and Chris Woakes got three wickets each. In the next match, Sunil Narine scored what was then the fastest fifty in IPL (50 off 15 balls – which is now the second-fastest). KKR made the highest score made in powerplay in any IPL match, and easily chased down the target offered by RCB.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The rivalry with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) intensified during the 2024 season, as the two teams met three times, including in the final. Kolkata has historically held the upper hand in this matchup, winning 20 of their 30 total encounters as of the conclusion of the 2025 season.

In 2024, Kolkata dominated Hyderabad by winning all three of their meetings. After a narrow 4-run victory in the league stage, the two teams met in Qualifier 1, where KKR chased down 160 in just 13.4 overs to reach the final.

On 26 May 2024, the teams faced off in the IPL Final at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. KKR's bowling attack, led by Mitchell Starc and Andre Russell, dismantled the Hyderabad batting lineup, bowling them out for 113—the lowest total in an IPL final history. Kolkata chased the target in just 10.3 overs with 8 wickets to spare, securing their third championship title.

The 2025 season saw both teams exchange dominant victories. In their first meeting at Eden Gardens, KKR recorded an 80-run win after posting 200/6, with Venkatesh Iyer scoring 60 (29) and Vaibhav Arora taking three wickets.

However, in the return fixture on 25 May 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Hyderabad achieved their biggest win over Kolkata by 110 runs. SRH posted a massive total of 278/3, led by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 105 (39) and Travis Head's 76 (40). In response, Kolkata was bowled out for 168, marking their heaviest defeat in franchise history by margin of runs.

As of May 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders lead the head-to-head record 20–10.

Home ground

The home venue of the Knight Riders is Eden Gardens (with the two ends of the crease called the High Court End and the Club House End). Owned by the Cricket Association of Bengal, it was the largest cricket stadium in India and had a seating capacity of over 90,000. In 2011, the stadium was renovated to meet the standards set by the International Cricket Council for the 2011 Cricket World Cup; reducing its capacity to around 68,000. The renovated stadium includes a new clubhouse and players' facilities, upgrading the exterior wall, cladding the existing roof structure with a new metal skin, and general infrastructure improvements. In 2013, two of the team's home matches were hosted by the JSCA International Cricket Stadium in Ranchi.

Players

Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, was the icon player and led the franchise in the 2008 and 2010 seasons. Brendon McCullum led the team in the intervening period. Both the captains were released before the 2011 season. The former team included all-rounders Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Mohammad Hafeez, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Angelo Mathews, batsman Ricky Ponting, Brad Hodge, Salman Butt, and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. The main bowlers were Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Karthik. Australian batsman Brad Hodge and bowlers Ajantha Mendis and Charl Langeveldt were bought outside the IPL auction in late 2008.

At the 2009 auction, the team bought Bangladeshi all-rounder Mashrafe Mortaza for $600,000. Due to the unavailability of Pakistani players starting 2009, KKR had to suspend the contract of Umar Gul, who was a key performer from the 2008 season. On 26 April 2009, KKR administration sent back two of its players, Akash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar, due to poor performance. Shane Bond was acquired after releasing Ricky Ponting, Morne van Wyk, and the Pakistani players Umar Gul, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Akhtar before the third season. Moises Henriques was traded to Delhi in return for Owais Shah and Manoj Tiwary. Thus, their overseas roster for the 2010 season consisted of Shane Bond, Mashrafe Mortaza, Brendon McCullum, Charl Langeveldt, Ajantha Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Owais Shah and Chris Gayle.

2011 heralded the beginning of a new era for KKR. In the 2011 season, KKR drastically revamped their squad. Former captain and icon player Sourav Ganguly was not purchased in the January auction. This led to protest rallies, signature campaigns throughout the country and abroad along with stadium protests by various fan groups, such as "No Dada No KKR", which received both national and international press attention. The team appointed Gautam Gambhir, who was bought for a record-breaking $2.4 million as skipper. Yusuf Pathan was also picked up for $2.1 million. Other international names who were added include Shakib Al Hasan, Brad Haddin, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Ryan ten Doeschate, Eoin Morgan and James Pattinson. Haddin was replaced by Mark Boucher mid-season due to injury.

In the 2012 auction, KKR bought back their former captain, Brendon McCullum. They also acquired West Indian spinner Sunil Narine and South African fast bowler Marchant de Lange.

Captains

Last updated: 11 April 2025

Current squad

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

Seasons

Administration and support staff

Source: KKR Staff

Statistics

Overall results

Updated as of 25 May 2026

Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result)

Win or loss by super over or boundary count included

Source: ESPNcricinfo

Result summary

Updated as of 25 May 2026

Legend:

Knight Riders Group

Kolkata Knight Riders is part of the Knight Riders Group (KRG), a global brand in cricket, with franchises in the Caribbean Premier League and Women's Caribbean Premier League (Trinbago Knight Riders), in the International League T20 (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) of UAE, and the Major League Cricket (Los Angeles Knight Riders). In June 2015, the team's ownership group bought a stake in Caribbean Premier League's Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, and renamed it the Trinbago Knight Riders in 2016. The team invested in the American T20 league Major League Cricket in December 2020.

KRG had also acquired a franchise in Cricket South Africa's T20 Global League, but the league was eventually scrapped and replaced with Mzansi Super League as the board was unable to secure a broadcasting deal. In 2021, the Knight Riders Group CEO, Venky Mysore, had announced their intentions to invest in ECB's new competition format, The Hundred. However, the plan failed to materialise. Other Indian Premier League franchises have followed KRG's path and have franchises in T20 leagues outside India, or have shown interest for the same. In 2022, KRG announced the construction of a 10,000-seater stadium in Los Angeles, in partnership with Major League Cricket, for their franchise (Los Angeles Knight Riders).

In popular culture

A reality show by the name Knights and Angels aired on NDTV Imagine in 2009 to pick cheerleaders for the Knight Riders for the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League.

In 2014, a documentary titled Living With KKR aired on the Discovery Channel. It covered the journey of the team from its disappointing first three seasons to its redemption as IPL champions in 2012.