The Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the strongest teams of the Indian Premier League. Apart from the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians who have won the title three times each, KKR is the second most successful team in the IPL history to have the trophy on their shelf for two times.
To win a title as big as IPL, a team ought to have some phenomenal players to lead. KKR always have had the best of players one could think of. They dominate their games with world-class players who get the team in a good lead.
But however good the players are, the time and luck have the power to outplay you anytime. And it is most likely that some players might just not have the day. Yet, the KKR team management had been a bit picky about the team. There are players that they had not retained based on their past performances who later have flourished under other banners.
Here are the three names who KKR lost to their impatience.
Three Players Whose IPL Career Bloomed After Leaving KKR:
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is one of the best batsmen of the T20 cricket format. With his 112 off 57 balls, he became the first cricketer to hit a century in the 2007 ICC World T20. That being said, the Windies batsman had bagged six centuries, claiming the record for most centuries in the IPL history. Five of those centuries were made for RCB, while one came for Kings XI Punjab.
The legendary left-handed batsman was first signed up by the KKR. But after their unsuccessful three years of IPL career, the KKR team management renewed the whole team and did not retain any player from their previous squad.
He was then signed by RCB and is now playing for KXIP.
Brendon McCullum
The Kiwi batsman was KKR’s most fearsome player in the 20-overs format of the game. In his debut match of IPL 2008, Brendon had scored the highest score of 158 runs from 73 balls, hitting 13 sixes and 10 fours. He led the team to their very first win of the season on his debut match.
Brendon had represented the team for two different short periods of time, including the IPL 2012. Yet, the team decided not to retain him. Later, he was signed by Kochi Tuskers Kerela before joining Chennai Super Kings where he scored 400+ runs in two consecutive seasons.
Subsequently, he was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Brendon went on to break many records in the T20 format and had played his last match against CSK last year.
Suryakumar Yadav
The aggressive batsman, also an occasional medium pace bowler, was forked out by KKR in 2014 auctions. Yadav’s name soared in the news headlines in the IPL 2015 for his match-winning 20-ball 46 with five sixes against Mumbai Indians. He proved his worth for the team but got chances in the lower order and thus did not get many chances.
However, Yadav was picked up by his debut team Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2018 as their opener. And there he finished as the highest run-getter for the Mumbai Indians with a remarkable score of 512 runs in the season.