It’s safe to say that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are one of the most successful teams in IPL history. They have won the title two times and placed second once.
Many promising young professionals have benefited greatly from KKR’s support throughout the years. Several KKK players, including Venkatesh Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, and Nitish Rana, earned spots on the Indian national squad.
Some of India’s more seasoned players, like Robin Uthappa, Lakshmipathy Balaji, and Umesh Yadav, were recalled following strong showings for Kolkata.
Players in the Indian Premier League have long coveted a spot on the KKR roster, but some have found higher success rates after leaving the club. In this article, we’ll introduce you to three such cricketers.
Shubman Gill
After leading India to victory at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, Shubman Gill made his IPL debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The young Indian batsman spent four years with Kolkata, during which time he amassed 1,147 runs at a strike rate of 123 in 55 innings.
Before the upcoming 2022 IPL season, KKR decided to release Gill. He transferred to the Gujarat Titans and quickly established himself as a game-changer for the team based in Ahmedabad. For GT, Gill has scored 483 runs in 16 games.
As a result of his strong play in those matches, he is currently considered one of the best openers in Indian cricket across all three formats.
Suryakumar Yadav
The Mumbai Indians were the IPL champions when Suryakumar Yadav was originally recruited by them, although he did not have a particularly successful first season with the team. In 2014, he was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders and experimented with as a finisher. Yadav did an outstanding job for the squad, scoring 608 runs in 41 innings with a strike rate of 131.89.
Yadav has shown to be a game-changer for KKR, but he has yet to get his first call-up to the Indian national team. In 2018, he was back with the Mumbai Indians, this time as a top-order hitter.
Yadav earned his Twenty20 International debut against England in 2021 after scoring heavily for MI from 2018 to 2020.
Rahul Tripathi
IPL 2017 was Rahul Tripathi’s breakout season, as his stellar play for the Rising Pune Supergiant brought him widespread attention. However, he was not able to sustain his career in 2018 and was released by the Rajasthan Royals. Tripathi left RR after two unremarkable seasons and joined the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2020 season.
Moving to KKR was a game-changer for Tripathi, just as it was for Suryakumar Yadav. He batted for Kolkata in 27 games, scoring 627 runs with a strike rate of 135. But Kolkata did not renew his contract for the upcoming 2022 campaign.
After that, he was signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he was given a starting spot in the top order. Tripathi batted for SRH in 14 games of IPL 2022, scoring 413 runs at an average of 37.55 (strike rate >155). This year he debuted for his country in a match against Sri Lanka.
