Kolkata Knight Riders is one of the most famous franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. KKR’s home ground is Eden Gardens, which is situated in Kolkata. It has gained immense popularity because of celebrity owners. Kolkata Knight Riders have won the IPL title several times by beating many biggest teams like Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, etc. The Knight Riders hold the record for the longest-running streak by any IPL franchise. The team’s leading run-scorer is Gautam Gambhir.
Kolkata Knight Riders Overview
| Captain | Shreyas Iyer |
| Coach | Chandrakant Pandit |
| Home Ground | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| IPL Titles | 2 (2012, 2014) |
| Owner | Knight Riders Group (Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta) |
KKR- Kolkata Knight Riders Squad 2025
Batsman
Ajinkya Rahane
Captain/Batsman
Rinku Singh
Batsman
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
WK/Batsman
Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Batsman
Manish Pandey
Batsman
Rovman Powell
Batsman
Luvnith Sisodia
WK/Batsman
Quinton de Kock
WK/Batsman
All Rounders
Venkatesh Iyer
All-Rounder
Anukul Roy
All-Rounder
Moeen Ali
All-Rounder
Ramandeep Singh
All-Rounder
Andre Russell
All-Rounder
Bowlers
Anrich Nortje
Bowler
Vaibhav Arora
Bowler
Mayank Markande
Bowler
Spencer Johnson
Bowler
Harshit Rana
Bowler
Sunil Narine
Bowler
Varun Chakaravarthy
Bowler
Chetan Sakariya
Bowler
Kolkata Knight Riders History
Kolkata Knight Rider initially had a slow start in the IPL seasons, failing to even qualify for the playoffs in 2011. However, when Gautam Gambhir was assigned as captain, the team transformed into a strong contender, winning the IPL title in 2012 and 2014. KKR is known for its overwhelming spinners, featuring several legends like Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, and Kuldeep Yadav over their years in the Indian Premier League. The name of the team is inspired by a popular 1980s American television series, Knight Riders. The official motto of the team is as Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo which stands for Perform, Fight, Win. The official colors are purple and gold. Now, according to Forbes in 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders is the third most valuable team in the IPL behind MI and CSK with a total evaluation of $1.1 billion.
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad (2025)
| Shreyas Iyer (Captain) | Nitish Rana | Jason Roy |
| Rinku Singh | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Angkrish Raghuvanshi |
| Andre Russell | Sunil Narine | Venkatesh Iyer |
| Shardul Thakur | Sam Billings | Litton Das |
| Mitchell Starc | Umesh Yadav | Varun Chakravarthy |
| Lockie Ferguson | Suyash Sharma | Vaibhav Arora |
| Harshit Rana | – | – |
Kolkata Knight Riders Highs
Some of the most performable years for KKR were 2012 and 2014. As Gujarat Titans under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, KKR won their first two championships. As one of the third-best teams of the Indian Premier League franchise, the team is dominant in spin attack as their bowlers are some of the best: Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, and Kuldeep Yadav. Including all of that, KKR has one of the most passionate fan bases in the IPL.
Kolkata Knight Riders Lows
After Gautam Gambhir left the team in 2018, the team faced inconsistency in leadership and performance. Eventually, KKR fell short against Chennai Super Kings in the finals of the 2021 IPL season. The team overall struggled a lot with captaincy stability, with multiple leaders changing in frequent years.
Kolkata Knight Riders Record Table
| Season | Matches Played | Wins | Losses | No Result | Final Standing | Top Run Scorer | Top Wicket Taker |
| 2008 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 6th Place | Sourav Ganguly (349) | Shoaib Akhtar (5) |
| 2009 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 8th Place | Brendon McCullum (285) | Ishant Sharma (11) |
| 2010 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6th Place | Chris Gayle (292) | Shane Bond (9) |
| 2011 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | Playoffs | Jacques Kallis (424) | Iqbal Abdulla (16) |
| 2012 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | Champions | Gautam Gambhir (590) | Sunil Narine (24) |
| 2013 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 7th Place | Gautam Gambhir (406) | Sunil Narine (22) |
| 2014 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | Champions | Robin Uthappa (660) | Sunil Narine (21) |
| 2015 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5th Place | Andre Russell (326) | Umesh Yadav (14) |
| 2016 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | Playoffs | Gautam Gambhir (501) | Andre Russell (15) |
| 2017 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | Playoffs | Gautam Gambhir (498) | Nathan Coulter-Nile (15) |
| 2018 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | Playoffs | Chris Lynn (491) | Sunil Narine (17) |
| 2019 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 5th Place | Andre Russell (510) | Andre Russell (11) |
| 2020 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5th Place | Shubman Gill (440) | Varun Chakravarthy (17) |
| 2021 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | Runners-up | Shubman Gill (478) | Varun Chakravarthy (18) |
| 2022 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 7th Place | Shreyas Iyer (401) | Umesh Yadav (16) |
| 2023 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 7th Place | Rinku Singh (474) | Varun Chakravarthy (20) |
| 2024 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5th Place | Nitish Rana (505) | Mitchell Starc (19) |
FAQs About Kolkata Knight Riders
1. Who is the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders?
KKR is owned by the Knight Riders Group, which consists of celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Jay Mehta.
2. How many IPL titles has KKR won?
KKR has won two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 which was under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy.
3. What is KKR’s home ground?
KKR’s home ground is Eden Gardens situated in Kolkata, one of the most iconic stadiums in cricket.
4. Who has been KKR’s most successful captain?
Gautam Gambhir is KKR’s most successful captain, leading them to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
5. What was KKR’s best-ever IPL season?
KKR’s best seasons were 2012 and 2014, when they won two IPL titles.
