Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the most successful teams in the history of IPL. They have two IPL titles to brag about. KKR’s auction philosophy has been unchanged over the years. They never go after the biggest names in the auction rather they evaluate the return on performance for each player, try to grab them as low as possible, and then nurture them at Eden Gardens. In the recently concluded player auctions for IPL 2021, KKR balanced itself to a great extent. Here is the list of all their signings and how they fit in the Kolkata-based franchise.
1: Shakib Al Hasan (3.2 Crores):
Shakib has already played for KKR in the past editions of the tournament. He brings along years of world-class experience with him which will add a lot of value to the otherwise fragile-looking middle-order of KKR. This sounds like a great deal.
2: Ben Cutting (75 Lakhs):
Andre Russell has been the backbone for KKR but the injury-prone nature of the West Indian giant has been an issue for them in the past. Signing Ben Cutting at a mere 75 Lakhs is an awesome attempt to solve this problem. There is no other player who can replace Russell but Cutting if given enough opportunities might solve their over-reliance on Andre Russell. KKR needs to pour some thoughts on their player rotations policy so that the playing-11 is fresh and fearless.
By the way, this seals their foreign quota as there were only two slots available.
3: Harbhajan Singh (2 Crores):
Although KKR has the mystery spinner Sunil Narine, an uprising in Varun Chakravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav, Signing Bhajji at his base price is a great strategy to further bolster their spin department. Especially in the times when players are reading well to Narine and Kuldeep Yadav, Bhajji’s experience will be valuable for KKR.
4: Other Signings:Â
Sheldon Jackson for Rs 20 lakhs, Karun Nair for 50 lakhs, Pawan Negi for 50 lakhs, Venkatesh Iyer for 20 lakhs, Vaibhav Arora for 20 lakhs
What is missing?
KKR’s open batting is still not fixed completely. There is Shubman Gill who is doing good but Tim Seifert and Rahul Tripathi still need to earn the non-striker’s end. Sheldon Jackson and Karun Nair might need to step up to this role and provide a good start to the KKR.
P.S: After so many failed experiments, the chances of Sunil Narine opening the batting are slim this time.
