IPL 2018: Kolkata Knight Riders Full Squad

It’ll be a little odd to see someone else but Gautam Gambhir leading the Kolkata Knight Riders, but they managed to rope in some very exciting players. The IPL 2018 Auction concluded in Bengaluru and all the teams look very happy with what they’ve got. Talking of the Knight Riders, one might feel there are some loopholes here and there, but this is one strong contingent.

Kolkata will have a problem of plenty when the season commences. For example, they have three outstanding Indian fast bowlers in Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and Vinay Kumar. It’ll be a hard choice to keep any one of them out of the XI. Another choice they have to make is for a new leader.

As it appears, Robin Uthappa who and the franchise have been together since 2014 will be elevated to the role of the captain. Barring him, at this point, it doesn’t appear that some other individual has the potential to lead this team. The management might look towards Dinesh Karthik given his domestic captaincy experienced, but Uthappa is currently the favourite for the role.

Smallest squad of the season

The Knight Riders will enter the tournament with the smallest squad amongst all the teams. They bought 17 players in the auction, to go with the two they retained. This means they are the only team who didn’t touch the 20-player mark when it comes to squad strength. Also, they spent all the money they were allotted.

Do they have the firepower to go all the way? Maybe yes, but do they have anyone who can lead them down that path? Someone who can make his experience count and help them get out of some ludicrous predicaments, maybe no! Having said that, all the youngsters getting prime exposure under the likes of Jacques Kallis and Simon Katich along with others can do a world of good for them as well as Indian cricket in the future.

Retentions

They used all their 3 RTM cards that were at disposal. After retaining two foreign players in Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, they used the Right to Match card to get back Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, and Kuldeep Yadav. Uthappa cost Rs. 6.4 crore, whilst Chawla went for Rs. 4.2 crore and Kuldeep Yadav asked for Rs. 5.8 crore.

Most Recognizable Players Bought

Two injury-prone Australian cricketers, Mitchell Starc and Chris Lynn, went for a whopping Rs. 9.4 crore and Rs. 9.6 crore respectively. Although they have never participated in an entire season previously, their calibre certainly deserves that amount. They also bought the India U19 fast bowling duo Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

Batsmen

Although they have the likes of Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, and Dinesh Karthik, their middle order looks a bit pale. Lynn is their most expensive foreign buy in the history, who went for a staggering Rs. 9.6 crore. Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and maybe even Cameron Delport will be playing a crucial role in handling the middle order.

Wicketkeepers

Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa, two experienced IPL campaigners are on the same side for the very first time. Whilst Karthik might be the one who will be taking the gloves, Uthappa too has done very well behind the stumps for Kolkata. These two players will appear in the XI almost every match and they’ll be forming the nucleus of this side for the coming years.

All-rounders

Russell’s retention was questioned by a lot of people, but no one is oblivious to the threat he poses. Sunil Narine has been doing wonderfully with the bat at the top of the order these days, so we can consider him as an all-rounder this season. Cameron Delport, Javon Searles, and Shivam Mavi are the other bowling all-rounders in the side.

Bowlers

Mitchell Starc is the third costliest bowler in the tournament’s history. He clearly will be their go-to man for the season and they’d be praying for him to be available for the whole season. Vinay Kumar and Mitchell Johnson have been doing very well in the IPL and they are a great addition considering they lack experience. Kamlesh Nagarkoti is another name that will hog a lot of attention. The spin department includes the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, and Sunil Narine.

Here is the KKR squad for IPL 2018:

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