The Kolkata Knight Riders is the Kolkata franchise of the Indian Premier League. The logo of the franchise is a blazing helmet-a hybrid of a knight's helmet and a batsman's helmet. The Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly, leads the Knights into battle for the 2010 season. With the departure of John Buchanan as coach, KKR hopes that the Ganguly/Whatmore combination brings success to the Kolkata franchise.
KKR's motto is "We will do it, Fight for it, Win it," but they have done more fighting than doing or winning in the first two IPL seasons. It is a surprise that Kolkata remains a popular brand in the IPL despite its lack of success. However, Shah Rukh Khan, the living Bollywood Legend, is the co-owner of the franchise. The pairing of Khan and Ganguly, rumoured to be volatile, certainly helps to make the Kolkata franchise marketable-given the icon status of both men. The famous 90,000-seater Eden Gardens is the home of the Knight Riders, ensuring that the franchise's coffers are filled by attendance alone.
== Brief IPL history ==
Established in 2008, as one of eight original IPL teams, the Kolkata Knight Riders had a poor on-field showing in the debut IPL. Controversy and tabloid-like speculation defined their season, instead of stellar cricket on field. Although KKR included Brendon McCullum, Ganguly and Shoaib Ahktar in 2008, they failed to reach the semi-finals. 2009 was even worse for Kolkata, as they finished at the bottom of the heap-winning a paltry three games out of 14.
== Star attractions of the KKR for 2010 ==
Sourav Ganguly (captain), Chris Gayle (WI), Ishant Sharma, Brad Hodge (AUS), Ajit Agarkar, Charl Langeveldt (AUS), Brendon McCullum (NZ), Angelo Matthews (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL) and Murali Kartik
== Coaching staff==
Head Coach: Dav Whatmore (AUS)
Assistant Coach: Vijay Dahiya
Bowling Coach: Wasim Akram (PAK)
Physiotherapist: Andrew Leipus (AUS)
== 2010 Kings XI Punjab Squad ==
Batsmen: Kumar Sangakarra (captain/wk), Adrian Barath, Mohammad Kaif, Mahela Jayawardene, Shaun Marsh, Ravi Bopara, Bipul Sharma, Tanmay Srivastava, Karan Goel and Manvinder Bisla (wk)
All rounders: Irfan Pathan, James Hopes, Yuvraj Singh, RS Sodhi
Bowlers: S Sreesanth, Brett Lee, R Powar, A Singh, L Ablish, V Malik, Y Abdulla, P Chawla, S Srivastava
Having a group of world-class all rounders and a few strike bowlers, the Kings XI Punjab seem to wear the crown with the ball. The batting is still very strong, but the success of the Kings in 2010 seems to depend on how well they contain opposing batsmen with their attack. They stand a good chance as any of making the semi-finals but their lack of T20 star power makes them outsiders for the title in IPL 2010.
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