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Kolkata: (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
The runner-up of the 2021 edition of the Indian T20 League, Kolkata made an early exit this season. The franchise found a new skipper in Shreyas Iyer for the new season. Under his leadership, Kolkata had started well but couldn’t maintain the winning momentum.
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They, eventually, finished the season at the number 7 position with 6 wins in 14 matches. So, what went wrong for Kolkata? In this article, we will be talking about three reasons why Kolkata failed to win the Indian T20 League 2022:
- Too many chopping and changes
Interestingly, as many as 20 players had played at least a single game in the first 12 matches for Kolkata. There wasn’t a single match when Kolkata’s playing XI was retained for the first 12 games. Despite the early wins, it never looked like a settled unit because of the changes they made.
Historically, teams haven’t won titles when they have made a lot of changing and chopping in the playing XI and Kolkata too had to pay the price for that. The runner-up of the 2021 edition, Kolkata faced an early elimination this season.
2. Inconsistent performances form the top-order
Ahead of the start of the Indian T20 League 2022, Kolkata dealt with a huge blow as Alex Hales had opted out of the 15th edition. Aaron Finch was added as a replacement but he had a horrendous outing with the bat.
Ajinkya Rahane’s performance with the bat didn’t inspire a lot of confidence either. Venkatesh Iyer, who played a major role in turning the team’s fortune last year, fared badly with the bat this season.
Shreyas Iyer was their highest run-scorer but Kolkata needed a consistent performer at the top of the order who could set the foundation on most occasions.
3. Over-Reliance on Andre Russell and Sunil Narine
There is no denying that Kolkata were over-dependent on Andre Russell and Sunil Narine on most occasions to help them win matches. Batting at lower down the order, Andre Russell was, once again, outstanding as he scored 335 runs at a strike rate of 174.47.
Sunil Narine too was exceptional with the ball. However, the other players too needed to step up which didn’t happen for a consistent period.