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KKR IPL 2021 Auction Analysis: How did they perform? | A look at how the Kolkata Knight Riders performed in the IPL 2021 Auction
This article is part of an Auction Analysis series, where we look at each team. Check out the analysis of:
Retained players: Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Seifert
Players bought: Shakib Al Hasan (INR 3.2 crore), Harbhajan Singh (INR 2 crore), Ben Cutting (INR 75 lakh), Karun Nair (INR 50 lakh), Pawan Negi (INR 50 lakh), Sheldon Jackson (INR 20 lakh), Venkatesh Iyer (INR 20 lakh), Vaibhav Arora (INR 20 lakh)
Purse remaining: INR 3.20 crore
Best Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson/Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
Alternate XI: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh karthik, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav/Harbhajan Singh, Lockie Ferguson/Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Varun Chakravarthy
The Kolkata Knight Riders were one of the most impressive teams on the auction table. The team had to buy backups for the opening slot, spin-bowling all-rounder, pace-bowling all-rounder and an Indian wicket-keeper batsman. They strengthened the bench strength after picking players for 3 out of the 4 categories.
The franchise opted not to buy an opening batsman and in all likelihood, they will trust the Indian options in their squad. The Eoin Morgan-led side roped in Shakib Al Hasan after a brief bidding war with the Punjab Kings.
They got their hands on Ben Cutting who will be on the bench but might come in, if the injury-prone Andre Russell is unavailable. Towards the end, experienced Indian internationals Harbhajan Singh and Karun Nair were bagged by the franchise as well for their base prices.
Venkatesh Iyer and Vaibhav Arora were the uncapped picks of the franchise while Sheldon Jackson will be the backup for Dinesh Karthik as he was the only keeper in the team prior to the auction.
The 2-time champions will stick to their playing XI from last season but in case of injuries and unavailabilities, they have their options sorted out. KKR didn’t quite optimise their resources in the previous season and if they give an opportunity to the players, they will be a fine team.
IPL 2021 Prediction
They have filled the backups as well which is crucial in a long tournament like the IPL. Unlike the last season, if KKR gives a long run to players at a specific position, reaching the playoffs is a realistic task for the franchise. However, in a competitive tournament, KKR must avoid a poor run of form that has hampered their past two campaigns.
Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.
This article is part of an Auction Analysis series, where we look at each team. Check out the analysis of:
