As part of former Australian coach John Buchanan's multi-captain strategy, he chose Adam to lead the team
When it comes to champions' teams being involved
in controversies or weird strategies, there is no doubt that both the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) have their share of incidents doing rounds on the internet. However, that doesn’t mean the Knights are any less. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the third most successful team in IPL history, have also faced weird situations, including the fake IPL player blog and a captain who never led the team in the IPL.
The question is, how is the second situation possible?
KKR’s hotchpotch
In 2008 when the IPL kicked off, KKR started off as the strongest team with multiple international stars. However, the team got a reality check in the evolving world of T20 and tasted dirt quickly, finishing far below expectations and struggling to find a cohesive team strategy. In the first season, the team finished sixth on the table.
(Credit- Sportstar)
For this reason, in 2009, former Australian coach John Buchanan, who was KKR’s coach at that point in time, decided to use a multi-captain strategy. Apart from Sourav Ganguly, the coach also considered Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Brad Hodge. However, there was one more player who was selected as the captain, but not many are aware of it.
Adam John Hollioake
(Credit- The Guardian)
Known for his leadership at Surrey, Adam John Hollioake is a former English player who played 35 ODIs and four Tests for England. Back in 2009, he was part of KKR’s coaching staff, but out of nowhere, Buchanan had the idea to rope him in as a player to test his multi-captain strategy. Therefore, before the 2009 IPL season, Buchanan fixed a tour to Queensland for the Riders.
KKR vs. Queensland
The tour turned out to be a horror for KKR, who lost the first game by 10 wickets, followed by a one-wicket victory in the second game. However, the team once again got back to losing ways, getting whooped in the next four matches with significant margins, whereas Adam’s performance with the bat wasn’t out of the world either. In fact, in the sixth game, Adam chose not to bat, but that is how he became a KKR captain who did not lead play in a single IPL match. Given he was 37 at that time and the performance against Queensland, he opted out of Buchanan’s plan.
As for KKR, the team continued its miserable form for another three years until it finally lifted its first-ever IPL trophy under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, and the rest, as we know, is history.
