Five matches have ended and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are still looking for their first win in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. The team is not coming together under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane; The body language of the players is evidence of a poorly performing team.
Last night, when Ramandeep Singh and Rovman Powell were at the crease, their attention was focused on the night dug-out several times. Head coach Abhishek Nair and captain Ajinkya Rahane were involved in a discussion. Rahane looked under pressure. Other support staff of the team like Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo and Tim Southee were sitting in the back row.
KKR’s batting is also under scrutiny
Mustafizur Rahman’s neglect, injuries to Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and the absence of Mathisha Pathirana have certainly harmed the franchise’s original plans for the 2026 season. The bowling department of the team is currently dependent on less experienced fast bowlers. Sunil Narine might be the only one who is bowling economical spells. His spin bowling partner Varun Chakravarthy has also been struggling with bad condition for the last one week.
But what’s wrong in the batting department? As for the batting, they have brilliant batsmen like Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh and Anukul Roy in their playing combination, along with a number of proven and exciting talents warming the bench. Even with a strong batting line-up, they are also struggling to show intent while batting.
Mohammad Kaif compared Andre Russell and Cameron Green
After the Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders match on April 14, former Team India cricketer Mohammad Kaif pointed towards a serious issue inside the Purple camp. According to Kaif, it doesn’t make sense for him to use Andre Russell as a “power coach”. He felt that Russell could perform much better on the field than Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, worth Rs 25 crore.
“Perhaps the biggest mistake KKR made this season was coaching Andre Russell and not using him as a bowler. The ploy of keeping him in the KKR dugout and not letting other franchises buy him in the auction did not work. Isn’t he still a better all-rounder than Cameron Green worth Rs 25 crore? The answer is clear:” Mohammad Kaif wrote this ‘X’ post on April 15.
Perhaps the biggest mistake KKR made this season was appointing Andre Russell as coach and not using him as an all-rounder. The ploy of keeping him in the dugout at KKR and not letting other franchises buy him in the auction did not work. Isn’t he still a better all-rounder than the Rs 25 guy…
– Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) 14 April 2026
Knight Riders will next face Gujarat Titans.
Last night, Knight Riders suffered a 32-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings. With the fourth win, the three-time IPL winners are not at the bottom of the IPL 2026 points table with just 1 point and a highly negative run rate of -1.383.
KKR’s next match will be against Gujarat Titans on April 17 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Gujarat will be favorites to win the match as they have achieved two consecutive wins in their previous IPL 2026 matches.
Read more: Ajinkya Rahane in trouble, BCCI accuses KKR captain of breaking rules
