Why the Failure of Kolkata Knight Riders’ Triple R Has Led to Their Poor Performance

Coming in as the Defending Champions of the IPL 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders were always expected to have an amazing season as they managed to retain their core players such as Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Ran, and Varun Chakravarthy. However, a major surprise came when the team released their IPL 2025 winning captain, Shreyas Iyer, along with Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, and others.

But even after releasing these players, the team relied on their core and especially their three finishers in the lower middle-order, popularly known as the Triple R, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Andre Russel, who have finished the matches for the team in the past and have been their regular members for now. However, the current season has been a shocking one for the Kolkata Knight Riders team, where their star finishers have failed to finish the matches for them and aren’t even able to score big in the death overs of the game, which has resulted in a big mess for the KKR Team.

Even during the match against the Delhi Capitals on 29th April 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, the Kolkata Knight Riders finished at a big total of 204 runs with the loss of 9 wickets and thanks to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane Sunil Narine at the top who played brilliant and led the team to a big total.

However, coming to their lower middle order, Rinku Singh played well and scored 36 runs from 25 balls at a strike rate of 144.00 which looked like he is coming back to the form, but still not his best knock while on the other hand, Andre Russell managed to score just 17 runs from the 9 balls played and had a strike rate of 188.88.

While coming to their third finisher, Ramandeep Singh has been dropped from the playing XI after he failed to make a mark in the starting games for the Kolkata Knight Riders team. With the failures from the Triple 3, the Kolkata Knight Riders have been struggling at the points table and are currently ranked at the 7th position in the points table.

Triple R’s Performance in the IPL 2025

Kolkata Knight Riders spent a lot of money to keep three important players for IPL 2025, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Andre Russell, hoping they would help the team. But these players have not been playing well this season.

Rinku Singh who has done well in past seasons, hasn’t been able to play his best this year and In 10 games, he scored 169 runs with an average of 33.80 and a strike rate of 145.68 as he played better against Delhi Capitals on 29th April, scoring 36 runs off 25 balls, but it wasn’t enough to win the match and one of his problems has been not scoring enough runs when the team needs him, especially in the last few overs. Andre Russell, known for hitting big sixes, has also struggled as he scored only 72 runs in 10 matches with an average of 10.28 and a strike rate of 130.90, and even though he scored 17 runs off 9 balls against Delhi Capitals, it didn’t show his usual power.

Ramandeep Singh, once seen as a good finisher for the team, was dropped from the playing XI, and he scored only 30 runs in 8 matches with an average of 7.50 and a strike rate of 115.38 and Because of this, the team decided to replace him with Anukul Roy, who can also bowl. So far, these players haven’t played well enough to help the team, and Kolkata Knight Riders will need to make changes if they want to improve.

How Triple R Performed in IPL 2024?

When the KKR team used to struggle in IPL 2024, the trio of Triple R was the one who used to be their savior. Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Andre Russell played crucial roles in turning matches around for Kolkata Knight Riders, especially in the middle and death overs, as their consistent performances with the bat were a major reason why KKR clinched the IPL 2024 title.

Rinku Singh was a key figure in the KKR middle order during IPL 2024. With 168 runs in 15 matches, Rinku averaged 18.66 at a strike rate of 148.67. Though not the highest scorer, his ability to score fast in the death overs made him a vital asset to the team. Rinku’s boundaries and sixes, totaling 13 and 8, were often the difference in setting or chasing big totals.

Ramandeep Singh was a big hitter for KKR in IPL 2024. Despite playing 15 matches, he had a low average of 31.25 but made up for it with his blistering strike rate of 201.61, which was among the best in the team. His ability to hit big sixes, totaling 12, added much-needed firepower to the lower middle order. Though Ramandeep was dropped from the team in IPL 2025, his impact in IPL 2024 was undeniable, as he often turned the game in KKR’s favor with his quick runs in the middle overs.

Andre Russell, the most experienced of the trio, had an outstanding IPL 2024. With 222 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 185.00, Russell was a true game-changer for KKR. His ability to accelerate in the death overs, along with 16 sixes and 20 boundaries, made him one of the most dangerous finishers in the IPL. His consistency and big-hitting abilities often provided the spark KKR needed to close out matches and secure key victories. Together, these three players, Rinku, Ramandeep, and Russell, formed an incredible finishing trio for KKR.