Does Buchanan really have answers?

Navjot Sidhu’s famous quip “The Indian openers in South Africa are as confused as a child in a topless bar” holds ever so true now. The Kolkata Knight Riders are in the same plight what the Indian openers got into during the 2001 tour. The loss against the Daredevils came as the last nail in their coffin, which should now be flown back to Kolkata immediately. If not, the wounded bodies inside that coffin would receive so many salts of defeat, that they would be ruined forever.

Right from the beginning of the tournament, the Knight Riders have done everything other than play cricket. Too many minds led by the smug John Buchanan have combined to bring in utter disaster. Let us take a look at some of the inexplicable things they did.

At the age of 36, Saurav Ganguly is being asked to field at positions like third man and fine leg in the slog overs and is expected to dive like a teenage Jonty Rhodes and save the team some 20 odd runs. This is nothing but an insult to a legend, who is still one of the best fielders in this hapless knight riders unit, statistically.

The bidding for the Bangladeshi all-rounder Mashrafe Mortaza went on for the longest time in the IPL history. Knight Riders have already played 9 matches with Mortaza sitting on the benches. Mortaza’s entry has helped SRK get more eyeballs from Bangladesh, which might mean more business. But by not playing him a single match, they have done gross injustice to one of the best players to have come out from that nation.

In the last match against the Daredevils, Moses Henriques came in the 14th over and gifted the bowler a maiden. This killed the momentum the Knights had actuated. Henriques later bowled military medium which Delhi batsmen dealt with disdain. The preference of Henriques over Mortaza defies all cricketing logic. So does the decision not to send Saurav Ganguly to bat at No. 4.

In the same match, Ashok Dinda’s first delivery to David Warner went out of the ground. Warner beautifully blocked Dinda’s next, with full face of his bat. What did Dinda do? He gave a one minute stare at Warner before walking back to his bowling mark. Warner lofted his next ball past the gallery.

Why is Dinda being tolerated when his bowling is wayward, fielding is worse than a schoolboy and batting is nonexistent? What logic would Buchanan brew to prop up his decision? If he had the right answer, Saurav Sarkar would have played a few matches by now.

Knight Riders’ fielding has been worst show of this year’s IPL. Their ground fielding and catching has reached the nadir—it can’t get worse.

John Buchanan is carrying 12 associate coaches and analysts along with him. What are they supposed to do? No one from players to even SRK seems to have a clue. Still, you can reach an easy conjecture. They may have played out their cricket early, but they are exemplifying many proverbs, which they are really good at. One that’s coming to my mind now— too many cooks spoil the broth. Do you recall the others?