IPL 2018: Unknown Players of the Kolkata Knight Riders

The IPL 2018 Auctions bagged a lot of headlines in the last couple of days. Even after the auctions is done and dusted, it is bound to keep the fans interested for the next couple of weeks. The auctions of 2018 saw a lot of surprise moves. Among all the franchises, the franchise that has arguably made the most surprising moves is the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Firstly, their ploy of not retaining or even using their RTM for Gautam Gambhir raised quite a few eyebrows. It is worth noting that it was Gambhir who had led them to two IPL victories. Moreover, they seemed to have missed the trick by not picking any player who could fit the bill as the captain, at least for now. In addition to this blooper, they ended up exhausting their purse value after fetching the services of only 19 players.

All other teams purchased more than 20 players. The teams were expected to purchase a maximum of 25 players. Well, there is nothing much that the Kolkata Knight Riders can do about the auctions now. They will have to play with the squad that they have. The fans are only talking about Mitch Starc and Chris Lynn in the lineup. Interestingly, there are some potential match winners in their squad who are not known to many.

Here are the unknown stars of the Kolkata Knight Riders:

1. Rinku Singh

Young Indian cricketer Rinku Singh has made a name for himself in the Indian cricket circle at a very young age. The 20-year-old cricketer from Uttar Pradesh is a natural strong hitter of the cricket ball. He is renowned for his performances in all the three formats with high strike-rates.

During the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018, Rinku’s helped Uttar Pradesh qualify to the Super League from the Inter-Zonal round. Interestingly, this is not the first time that he will on the roster of the IPL for a franchise. He was with the Kings XI Punjab last year.

2. Cameron Delport

Cameron Delport is a globe trotter when it comes to the shortest format of the game. He has been around for a very long time now and is a T20 veteran. The South African all-rounder is well known for his destructing performances with the bat. Delport is a top-order batsman who loves to play in the powerplay.

He usually opens the innings for his side. With Gautam Gambhir no longer in the side, the team could see him as a destructive option. Delport has T20 century to his name as well. He adds the value to the team as a bowler too with his medium pace in the middle overs.

3. Javon Searles

Javon Philip Ramon Scantlebury-Searles is a handy all-rounder from the Caribbean islands. He has been around for over a decade now in the competitive cricket. He plays for the Trinbago Knight Riders. His inclusion in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp is just a good way of marketing the brand value of the Knight Riders as a parent body.

Javon Searles is an all-rounder, who can use the long handle to quite an effective use. He took 7 wickets in 6 games he bowled during the last CPL season. The Indian cricket fans would be eager to see how he fares out in the IPL this year.

Here’s KKR’s full squad for IPL 2018 season:

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