If viral posts are to be believed, KKR is bringing back their black jersey after 14 long years
The Indian Premier League was inaugurated in 2008, which introduced Indians to franchise cricket. While all the franchises had money and great players, one team stood out in particular.
That team had style, glamour, a powerful line-up on paper, and a really cool anthem—Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re—the Kolkata Knight Riders. Oh, and did we mention their jersey and logo? A cricket helmet tweaked to look like a Viking battle helmet burning on fire, coupled with a black and golden jersey.
Nobody could beat them in style. Unfortunately, on the field, the Riders were a horror show.
When Shahrukh, Juhi Chawla, and other partners formed the team, they wanted a jersey that represented the team’s strength and the city. For the uninitiated, in West Bengal, women have always been worshipped more, and therefore, KKR chose black and gold—two strong colours associated with Maa Kali.
Superstitious or not?
Call it superstition or the team’s poor performance on the field, but many felt that the black colour did not work in Kolkata Knight Riders’ favour. After all, despite having some of the biggest legends in the lineup, the team finished in sixth position in 2008. The following year, KKR slipped further down the table, with only seven points in 14 games.
That was it—internal management decided to make some serious changes, and they started with the team’s jersey.
Several people, including Juhi Chawla’s astrologer Sanjay Jumaani and Sourav Ganguly’s close friend Nilaanjana Chakraborty, a numerologist and therapist, suggested the colour purple.
According to Nilaanjana, seven is the destiny number of Shah Rukh Khan and the then captain Sourav Ganguly, and it corresponds with purple. Furthermore, purple has a calming effect, which is better for the team’s captain and the players.
After several such suggestions, the management finally decided to change the jersey’s colour from black to purple.
After the colour was decided, Shah Rukh Khan reached out to his designer friend Manish Malhotra to design Riders’ new jersey in purple and gold. Despite the black going out, fans quickly accepted and embraced the purple jersey. In fact, the Reebok chairman had once admitted that out of all the IPL merchandise, KKR’s jersey was the best-selling item.
While 2010 didn’t significantly affect the team’s performance, things started moving in a more positive direction in 2011, as the team finished third and lifted the IPL trophy for the first time in 2012.
Since 2012, KKR has been a consistent performer, winning two more titles. In the upcoming season, the team will take the field as the defending champions.
Fans will once again have the opportunity to see the team play in black, but we certainly do not wish to see that form.
