The three men in question were there with the franchise even before the first ball was played on the pitch
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has witnessed the success and failure of multiple teams. On one side, the league has successful teams like Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), whereas on the other hand, teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Punjab Kings (PB) have constantly witnessed failures.
When we write about success or failure, it is not only the players who go through the process. The management, staff, coaches, mentors and everybody else feel the same emotion. And while players, given their fame, remain within the lens of cameras, people rarely know or remember the faces in the background.
In this article, we recall three names who saw success and failure together in the background while serving one team, whose names or faces aren't known by most IPL fans, not even the franchise's fans.
The franchise in question is the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), purchased by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Jay Mehta in 2008. As we are well aware of the team's history, KKR was left in the dirt at the beginning of the IPL, picked up their pace to win two titles, and then had a 10-year drought before lifting its third title in 2024.
During this period, several players and staff came and left. However, three of KKR's first employees stayed with the team for seven years. They came on board even before the 2008 auction and stayed with the team during its initial turmoil, followed by two titles.
First three
Joy Bhattarcharjya was one of the first KKR employees to serve as the team's Director in 2008. An eminent personality in the Indian sporting scene, Joy served as the Indian Head of Production of ESPN Star Sports, Director for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, CEO of the inaugural Pro Volleyball League, and Director-General of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports.
Joy was one of the reasons behind KKR's becoming a brand rather than a team that gets supporters because of its owner, Shah Rukh Khan.
Indian cricket fans from the early 2000s may recall Andrew Leipus. After all, Leipus, the physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team from 1999 to 2004, forced the board to make changes in treatment and training methods. Leipus was also one of the first three employees at KKR, spending 12 seasons with the Knights.
Adrien Le Roux is a sports scientist and strength and conditioning coach who is presently associated with the Indian camp. He worked for a year with the Indian team in 2002-03 and was part of the NatWest Trophy squad. Roux also served the South African cricket team from 2003 to 2007 before joining KKR in 2008.
From 2008 till 2019, he was with KKR but moved to Punjab in 2020. During his time at KKR, the athletes had a strong foundation designed by Roux.
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