IPL 2024: How Gambhir, Starc, and a Revamped Strategy Propelled KKR to Glory

IPL 2024: Analysing the crucial factors which led to Kolkata Knight Riders' title triumph.

IPL 2024: How KKR won the title.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

It was going to be a return to Indian Premier League (IPL) after almost a decade for Mitchell Starc and all eyes were on who would finally snatch him.

Since that day in Dubai in December 2023, when Starc was finally snapped up for the highest fee ever in IPL history, all eyes have been only on one side – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). We knew then that something was afoot and now, some six months later, we know why Kolkata was desperate for Starc. They wanted the crown – nothing more, nothing less.

That desperation was also visible in the way they quietly moved to bring back their champion former captain, Gautam Gambhir, as the team mentor. Let us not kid ourselves – Gambhir’s title may have been that of a mentor, but he was really the captain of the ship. He was the one leading the team off the field in every way possible. This may have been with regards to planning the auction, crafting strategy, and plotting the downfall of rival sides. Gambhir led the way all through.

Gautam Gambhir – The Captain of the Ship

(Photo: BCCI)

Since November 22, 2023, when Gambhir tweeted or posted about his move back to Kolkata, you knew that things were not going to be the same again. Gambhir had moved away from Kolkata at the end of the 2017 season and it was a big change after seven years. He lasted just one more season as a player in 2018 at Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), and that too ended mid-way for him as he quit his role as captain. 

Gambhir handed the reins to Shreyas Iyer then in 2018, who would be the captain who lifted the IPL title in 2024. The partnership between Gambhir and Iyer is now six year long, first as a trusted lieutenant and now as captain-mentor. 

What did not work for Kolkata in the last couple of seasons was the change in the way the side was being run. For the last 12 years Kolkata has become the gateway to international roles for their head coaches:

• Dav Whatmore moved to Pakistan in 2012

• Trevor Bayliss moved to England in 2015

• Brendon McCullum moved to England in 2022

The only thing now that Shahrukh Khan and his management team are hoping for is that history doesn’t repeat itself with Gambhir being snapped up by India!

Chandu Champion – The Hard Taskmaster

(Photo: BCCI)

Kolkata changed track and brought in a hardnosed Indian domestic stalwart Chandrakant Pandit as their head coach. But in the first season in 2023, it just did not work. There were multiple factors at play for that. This was Pandit’s first big brush with a group of international players, even though he had played at the highest level for India.

Gambhir and Pandit were the old-school hard taskmasters who did not throw fancy jargon around. Iyer was cut from a different cloth, having a different background to the support staff.

Pandit’s hard-nosed approach did not find any backers in 2023 with David Wiese and Narayan Jagadeesan sharing stories about his ‘militant’ style, right when the ongoing season was in full swing. Later on, the success of Ashutosh Sharma at Punjab Kings also brought its share of stories about Pandit’s style, but Kolkata backed their head coach right through. 

Abhishek Nayar – Bringing the Best of Both Worlds

(Photo: BCCI)

Then, there was Abhishek Nayar, the assistant coach who played a part in Dinesh Karthik’s resurrection. Nayar marries the old world with the new and takes care of the domestic talent. 

Bharat Arun – The Bowling Coach

(Photo: BCCI)

Bharat Arun, the celebrated former India bowling coach, was around as well, managing the young fast bowlers. Arun’s presence has played a part as well because he works well with the quickies and Starc complements him well. Arun and Nayar work with Knight Riders franchises all over the world. This ensures continuity. Pandit works with Madhya Pradesh so that helps him keep track of domestic talent.

Nathan Leamon – The Man You Probably Haven’t Heard About

One name you probably would never hear about is that of Nathan Leamon – the specialist T20 strategist who was also part of the English set-up. Leamon was famous for putting up what appeared to be random numbers outside the dugout/dressing room. It was later revealed to be a guide for then English white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, and worked wonders for that side. Morgan was the one who brought Leamon into the Kolkata side and since then, he has worked wonders, quietly.

AR Srikkanth & Carl Crowe

Then there is AR Srikkanth – a celebrated analyst who works with franchises all over the globe and who is a talent scout in his own right. Srikkanth has been a constant with the franchise over the years. 

Carl Crowe, a little-known Leicestershire off-spinner was the other unsung hero of the backroom staff as a spin bowling coach. Crowe worked with the spinners and that proved to be a big game changer through the season for the side.

Mitchell Starc’s Class

(Photo: BCCI)

In 2023, there were injuries galore, the side appeared to be drifting along without a plan. Iyer himself was out injured and it was a stand-in captain in Nitish Rana, who was managing the side.

The ingredients for a good side were already there. But what it needed was a bit of direction. So, the return of Iyer as a player and captain was important. But the side also needed the class of a Starc to just be around on the field and help the younger lot with his experience. 

That big catch of Starc was to prove to be the big game changer. At the start of IPL 2024, everyone on social media kept doing the sums of how bad the move was, but Starc was a world-class performer, and he knew when to turn it on. In the last week of the tournament, when it mattered most Starc’s performances were worth every penny spent.

The Role of Domestic Players

(Photo: BCCI)

The role of the Indian players was no less important. Venkatesh Iyer, who strode into everyone’s mindsets a few years ago when Eoin Morgan was leading the Knights, was now being used as a floater. 

The other big performers have been the likes of Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora. Of these two seamers, Arora could well be seen as a journeyman cricketer who is a hard-nosed domestic performer. Rana, on the other hand, has already been earmarked as someone who can ply his trade for India in white-ball cricket. Rana’s image of blowing a kiss to Mayank Agarwal is already an iconic moment, one which even the owner Shahrukh Khan employed post the title triumph.

Rana was amongst the top five wicket-takers this year. He bowls at pace, hustles the batters and is aggressive in every way. We have not seen him bat but once he does, he will be a handful with that too. He is clearly one to watch out for.

Sunil Narine & Andre Russell – The Eternal All-Rounders

(Photo: BCCI)

But the two biggest stories for Kolkata this year were the eternal all-rounders – Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Kolkata kept retaining these two mavericks and kept flummoxing everyone with their thought processes. It required Gambhir to get the fire burning in these two all-rounders again. Narine’s move back to the top of the order proved to be a game-changer. 

Narine and his partner Phil Salt added a lot of fire in the powerplay to destroy sides. Russell also stayed fit throughout the tournament and that proved to be the deciding factor because he bowled crucial spells like the one in the final.

Other Notable Mentions

(Photo: BCCI)

The guile was back in Varun Chakaravarthy’s bowling who was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. A few years back he was drafted into the Indian T20 World Cup squad in 2021 but was made the scapegoat of the 10-wicket loss at the hands of Pakistan. Chakaravarthy still has the guile and deserves a relook for the T20I format.

Surprisingly two guys – Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh – who were the toast of the Kolkata fans for the last few years, did not have much to do this season. But they were very much around in the side’s revival this season. Rinku’s batting position proved to be a deciding factor in him being consigned to the reserves of the Indian T20 World Cup squad, while Rana never really recovered from an injury.

Rinku’s batting position proved to be a deciding factor in him being consigned to the reserves of the Indian T20 World Cup squad, while Rana never really recovered from an injury.

There were several other unsung heroes in Kolkata’s line-up, but the most important aspect was that they went back to the basics.  

Keeping It Simple

Overall, the Kolkata strategy was simple like it should be for any white-ball side. Bat aggressively, pick wicket-taking bowlers and have depth in the line-up. Kolkata ticked all the boxes. In the end, two of their bowlers were in the top five wicket-takers and only one of their batters was in the top 10. Remember the dictum – bowlers win tournaments, batters only win matches.

Now doesn’t all the desperation bid for Starc tie in very well?