Big disappointment for KKR fans.
Did Kolkata Knight Riders came with an auction strategy apart from already deciding that it wouldn't be picking Gautam Gambhir. They probably did, but it was conspicuous by its absence for most part of the two-day auction in Bengaluru.
There is no stand-out player in the 18 member squad, who can be deemed as a 'natural leader'. Dinesh Karthik, Uthappa and Russel are probable contenders. KKR has got a strong bowling line-up with foreign firepower in Russel, Starc, Delport and the ever dependable Sunil Narine. The Indian pace bowling recruits don't have much of an experience but have been talked about- the likes of Nagarkoti, Mavi. In Chawla and Kuldeep, KKR's bowling is sorted. Late buy Javon Searles is a handy all-rounder.
However, the big problem for them is in the batting department. The only foreign recruit in the batting department is Chris Lynn, who has injury concerns. The reputed Indians picked up are Uthappa, Kartik, Ishank Jaggi, Nitish Rana. But beyond that other picks like Shubnam Gill, Rinku Singh , Apoorv Wankade, etc are certainly lightweight. The choice of foreign all-rounders also don't inspire much confidence.
Maybe one or two among them will light up the IPL and surprise us with their stellar performance. But all of it is in the realms of speculation. There is no doubt that KKR has taken a massive punt getting on board unexperienced players and not picking up a single big-ticket Indian player. In any IPL campaign, you need a couple of players who can win 2-3 matches single-handedly. Who will raise their hands and come up good for KKR? The team selection looks muddled without any clear thinking.
KKR's selections in the auction was a case of missed opportunities. It couldn't hold on to the likes of Manish Pandey, Surya Kumar Yadav. Many of the top billing pacers too left the hut. Purple supporters are unlikely to be happy with this selection. In T20 anything can happen. But it'd take something extraordinary for this team to challenge for the title.
Strength: Strong bowling unit
Weakness: Lack of batting firepower both foreign and Indian
Auction Ratings: 4/10
Full team:
Chris Lynn- Batsman
Mitchell Starc- Bowler
Dinesh Karthik - WK
Robin Uthappa -WK (RTM)
Kuldeep Singh Yadav- Bowler (RTM)
Piyush Chawla -Bowler (RTM)
Nitish Rana- All-Rounder
Kamlesh Nagarkoti- All-Rounder
Shivam Mavi -All-Rounder
Mitchell Johnson- Bowler
Shubman Gill -Batsman
Ranganath Vinay Kumar- Bowler
Rinku Singh- Batsman
Cameron Delport- All-Rounder
Javon Searless -All-Rounder
Apoorv Vijay Wankhade- Batsman
Ishank Jaggi- Batsman
Sunil Narine- Bowler (R)
Andre Russel-Bowler (R)
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