KKR's ugly Endoskeleton exposes in IPL 2025 Swansong, Knights save the Worst for the Last

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Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re - the famous and iconic tagline of Kolkata Knight Riders has taken the biggest beating this season.

The 'Korbo' (We will Do) part was evident in the pre-match sessions, social media and interviews, the 'Lorbo' (We will Fight) was in patches as sporadic performances really looked promising, and the crucial 'Jeetbo' (We will Win) was few and far between - as the defending champions makes a sorry exit to IPL 2025 - with just 5 wins in 14 matches and an 8th place finish.

After the joyous IPL 2024 campaign, it looked like KKR will be taking the next step this year. But from the auction table, the blunders, poor judgements and ludicrous buys started their downfall, which took a full circle in the course of this season.

It has been a dismal season to say the least. But the biggest apple of discord for the KKR fans will be the manner of their defeats. The Knights have barely looked a shadow of themselves from last year. In every department, they have lacked. All of their big guns have miserably flopped, culminating in the disastrous finish to the season.

And Alas!! The Knights saved the worst for last. In the final match on Sunday (May 25), they conceded 278 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Many in Kolkata and West Bengal switched off their TV sets and streaming devices after the first innings, and they need not regret it, as KKR ended up losing the match by 110 runs.

But what is the reason behind this disaster, yet again for KKR? A team, who have won the IPL three times, have now bowed out of the tournament miserably in the very next year of a championship-winning season for the third time in a row.

Many eyebrows were raised when Venky Mysore kept on raising his pedal for Venkatesh Iyer - and then had his herculean laugh when they acquired the Madhya Pradesh player for Rs 23.75 crore!! And the result? Iyer has scored only 142 runs this season, with more than Rs 16 lakh per run.

The management's decision to invest heavily in Venkatesh Iyer did not yield the expected returns. Iyer's performance did not justify the hefty price tag, and this misallocation of resources highlighted the management's flawed decision-making process.

Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh - the trio of their retained players have been grossly underwhelming. On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy has also struggled in the latter stages. In terms of the overseas players, barring Sunil Narine, none have made any mark for the Knights.

Their pace attack of Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson have been disastrous, and same goes for the overseas players such as Quinton de Kock or Rovman Powell.

Furthermore, the coaching staff, including head coach Chandrakant Pandit, failed to adapt strategies to the evolving dynamics of the game. Their inability to inspire and extract the best from the players was evident throughout the season.

The Ugly Endoskeleton of KKR

A team which looked so well-oiled and amazing in IPL 2024, made a few blunders at the auction table. After the underwhelming strategy in the mega auction, the performances have also played a huge part in their downfall this season. Kolkata Knight Riders' opening stand has been disappointing, to say the least. While their spin bowling, pace bowling and middle order have also been nothing short of disastrous.

MyKhel asked a question to Sunil Narine about their post-championship season's struggles, and he spoke about new mentality and how they have evolved from the previous instances, but the results have been the same old for the Knights.

From defending champions to being ousted before the playoffs, their journey this year has been nothing short of a debacle. Amid the ruthless world of franchise cricket, KKR will need a revamp for next season. They need to clear funds for fresh personnel, fresh approach and a much clearer mindset - else the cycle of another decade-long trophy wait may further gain pace.