Betfacts / Andrew Hughes / 15 April 2009 /

The Knight Riders' campaign started brilliantly last year but they didn't kick on. The hero that day, Brendon McCullum, is stil there but coach John Buchanan's "no-captain" policy has raised a few eyebrows already, says Andrew Hughes.

Performance Last Year

Shah Rukh Khan's men in the golden helmets had a funny old IPL 2008. Their blazing opening day victory was followed by a stop-start campaign in which they ultimately disappointed, finishing sixth and missing out on the semi-finals. They were unbeatable at home but struggled away. This was largely due to the unpredictable Eden Gardens pitch, which helps to explain their comparatively good bowling and poor batting record. The disruption surrounding Shoaib Akhtar didn't help, nor did the non-availability of Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum and the injury to Chris Gayle.

Captain

None. Coach () Buchanan has instituted a 'no captain' policy this year, asking the likes of McCullum, Brad Hodge, Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly to share leadership on the field.

Three Key Players

Brendon McCullum made a huge impact last year, his opening day century remaining unsurpassed throughout the tournament. He is available for the whole tournament this year. Ishant Sharma had an ordinary tournament last year but is a better bowler in the limited overs format now and Ajantha Mendis will cause plenty of batsmen difficulties with his box of tricks.

Strengths

Though they have lost the excellent Umar Gul, Kolkata still look good in the bowling department, having recruited the underrated Twenty20 specialist Murali Karthik to complement Ajantha Mendis.

Weaknesses

They have already lost Ricky Ponting and will be without Gayle and David Hussey for large parts of the tournament. But their biggest problem is the multiple captaincy idea, something that has received a lukewarm reception, not least from former captain Sourav Ganguly.

Prospects

There is a lot to like about the Kolkata squad, particularly on the bowling front, where they are likely to pose a threat, despite not having the Eden Gardens pitch on their side. But it is hard to get away from the thought that the multiple captaincy idea is a massive gamble and a recipe for chaos and discord. It is interesting to speculate whether Buchanan would have been quite so brave had the Knight Riders been playing in front of a Kolkata audience, where Sourav Ganguly is revered as a cricketing god. Reservations about the captaincy issue help to explain why the gold and black clad Knight Riders are as high as [9.0] in the tournament winners market.

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