If there is one team in the IPL which gets embroiled in one form of the controversy or the other, it has to be Kolkata Knight Riders. It however is not in a negative sense, but is manifestation of the passion that the team owners bring to the team and believe in conducting the affairs of the team more through heart through mind.

The controversy for Kolkata Knight Riders in the third season started when the owner Shah Rukh Khan gave a statement that Pakistani players should also have been picked up by the franchises in the third season. It was followed by the controversy of choosing one of the endorsers, Lux Hosieries, whose owner was associated with a murder in Kolkata and the fans of KKR revolted. Shah Rukh Khan relented and severed relations with the brand.

One often wonders whether the controversies that stick to KKR so thick and fast are owing to the sheer fact that it is owned by Shah Rukh Khan as majority partner, along with Juhi Chawla, so every action and development of KKR passes through intense media scrutiny.

For KKR the biggest booster before the start of third season has been inclusion of Shane Bond into the team. Arguably, one of the fastest bowlers around, he would indeed provided the much needed sting in the bowling department, that KKR lacked in the previous two seasons and with Ishant Sharma bowling in tandem opponents need to be wary of the might of KKR. The icing on the cake is selection of Wasim Akram as the bowling consultant.

Reebok is the principle sponsor for KKR and though KKR stood 7 in the IPL2 the brands associated with it ensured that it KKR went laughing all the way to the bank. The combination of KKR and Reebok has the same value as Nike has for Arsenal in the English Premier League. All the brands that Shah Rukh Khan endorsed were associated with KKR. The commitment of Shah Rukh Khan to the team was manifest from the fact that he stopped endorsing Pepsi and started promoting Sprite, as it was the beverage brand for his team.

Among the new additions to the team in IPL 3 is Cheteshwar Pujara, the maverick batsman from Saurashtra who won appreciation from none other than Rahul Dravid and it provides strength to batting at the top.