Kolkata Knight Riders – Auction Preview for KKR

This article was written using Spoda.ai to find weak points for the Kolkata Knight Riders using the Ask Spoda feature and all of the player data was collected using Spoda AI! We have ball-by-ball data where you can perform your own analysis and find everything cricket!

Founded in 2008, Kolkata Knight Riders is a three-time IPL champion, winning titles in 2012 and 2014 under the charismatic leadership of Gautam Gambhir and one under Shreyas Iyer in 2024! Known for their flair and fight, KKR is a fan favorite at Eden Gardens, one of cricket’s most iconic stadiums.

KKR’s famous players include Andre Russell, a powerhouse with bat and ball; mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who changed T20 bowling. Icons like Brendon McCullum (158* in the first-ever IPL game) & Gautam Gambhir also left their mark.

With their “Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo” spirit, KKR is known for thrilling comebacks and entertaining cricket. Backed by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, their fanbase is as passionate as it gets.

Kolkata Knight Riders Retentions:

• Rinku Singh (13 crore)
• Varun Chakravarthy (12 crore)
• Sunil Narine (12 crore)
• Andre Russell (12 crore)
• Ramandeep Singh (4 crore)
• Harshit Rana (4 crore)

Players Released:

Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz*, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy*, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Vaibhav Arora, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford*, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman*, Gus Atkinson*, Sakib Hussain.

*Overseas Player

Kolkata Knight Riders and their Ultimate Goal:

• The Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to continue their aggressive intent up, being amongst the fastest teams in the powerplay as they rocketed along because of Narine and Salt breaking loose.
• Having let go of Shreyas Iyer, one of their major goals will be being able to find a player who brings in that sort of tactical nous and helps them on their pursuit of another title.
• A genuine overseas quick which has been a trend at KKR, from Brett Lee, to Morne Morkel to Mitchell Starc they will be on the hunt for a quality overseas quick who can handle bowling in multiple phases.

What kind of players do KKR need?

• With the departure of both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Phil Salt, Kolkata Knight Riders desperately require an overseas opener who can keep wickets as well.
• Having lost Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora, the KKR think tank needs to recruit a few pacers, including someone from overseas and a local seam bowler.

• With spots available at three and four, there is going to be a middle-order jostle with the Indian batters they eventually pick for these positions.
• A backup for the injury-prone Andre Russell, and no genuine all-rounders retained leaves them at risk.

Possible XI:

1. Sunil Narine
2. Overseas Keeper
3. Indian Batter
4. Indian Batter
5. Rinku Singh
6. Ramandeep Singh
7. Andre Russell
8. Harshit Rana
9. Overseas Pacer
10. Indian Pacer
11. Varun Chakravarthy

With 51 crores in the bank, Kolkata Knight Riders need to make 12 purchases, which will have to include some high-profile names alongside a new captain for the team, leaving them with their task cut out.

Possible Purchases:

Hunting for four different kinds of players, here are the possible players the Kolkata Knight Riders may be on the look out for!

• Phil Salt: He has been express in the Powerplay in 2024 and solves their keeping issue, already having played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. His strike rate of 172.78 and balls per boundary of 3.59 in the powerplay makes him an attractive option for the Knight Riders!

• Spencer Johnson: Spencer Johnson has played for the LA Knight Riders as well and he is taking his wickets once every 17.8 balls in the powerplay and adds a mighty fine option at death as Spencer Johnson’s stats at the death are balls per wicket: 10.875, economy rate: 7.52, dot ball percentage: 39.08% 

• Marco Jansen: Jansen takes a wicket once every 17.8 balls in the powerplay in 2024, and he has scored 256 runs at a strike rate of 173 and will be a long term investment, allowing Kolkata to have a backup player for Andre Russell and have him play a role similar to Mitchell Starc.

• Gerald Coetzee: He remains a rapid quick who anyone would like to have in their T20 side, with a balls per wicket of just 14.14, while his economy is on the higher side with 8.97, he remains a potent wicket taker!

• Shreyas Iyer: Having let go of Shreyas Iyer, they may look to buy him back, as he solves their issues with the captaincy and does a great deal as captain, his strike rate and balls per boundary against spin stands out! A strike rate of 147 and a balls per boundary of 5.2 as Iyer dominates spin.

• Venkatesh Iyer – Venky Iyer was brilliant for KKR in 2024, in the middle overs, he scored a boundary once every 5.83 balls, a boundary every over, while his strike rate during this phase was 142.14. His average of 66.3 in the middle overs highlights how often he was able to seamlessly bat through and last until the death setting up a great base. With a dot percentage of 31%, he also made sure he wasn’t bogged down for long periods.

• Rahul Tripathi – Tripathi’s strike rate of 144 makes him an attractive option for the Knight Riders to go after, while a batting average of 36.89 suggests he lasts long enough. A balls-per-boundary ratio of 5.43 makes him the most aggressive option the Kolkata think tank can look at.

• Azmatullah Omarzai: While Omarzai has not managed to put up the largest T20 numbers yet, his ability to bowl in the powerplay stands out with an economy of 7.8 and balls per wicket of 23.43 and his added batting ability would make him a great signing.

• Devdutt Padikkal: Devdutt Padikkal began his IPL career brilliantly, but with his newfound confidence in the red ball format, Padikkal may be a cheap and affordable pick if KKR manages to play him at 3 and give him the backing he requires.

• Tom Banton: Banton had a rough few years recently, but his performances have been on the up since 2023, Tom Banton has been striking at 136.65 and scoring a boundary once every 4.65 balls, and in the middle overs, his strike rate shoots upto 155.8 and has a balls per boundary of 5.27!