IPL 2021: Kolkata Knight Riders updated squad for UAE leg

In the first leg of IPL 2021, Kolkata Knight Riders seemed like a player who had his peak, while covering up his technical deficiencies for some years, but now his tactics are being found out. After finishing fifth in the two straight seasons, 2021 was going to be the season where they level up their game and get a playoff ticket. Instead, everything came down crushing and now the franchise looks like falling apart. 

When Kolkata Knight Riders restart their campaign of IPL 2021, there will be a few things that they would need to reshuffle, and their batting order could be the place where they start from. KKR started their season with a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But, after this, they lost four consecutive matches, each defeat exposing the holes which weren’t filled ahead of the season. 

Huge challenge in front of Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum in the UAE

They won one match against Punjab but another loss against Delhi meant, Kolkata found themselves exactly where they were at halfway stage in the 2014 season. It was also the same year when they won nine games (seven league matches and two playoff games) on the trot in the second half of the tournament to lift the trophy. Eoin Morgan would want to replicate that triumph, to make his legacy unforgettable in the streets of Kolkata. 

The journey in the UAE might get even tougher in the second leg, but being optimistic as a KKR player and fan wouldn’t be the worst thing. The side though will be without their marquee signing of Pat Cummins, who has made himself unavailable for the second half. KKR has instead signed Tim Southee, who brings in experience and expertise in the format. 

Apart from that, all the players from the first leg will return. Head coach Brendon McCullum will hope that they come with renewed energy. Towards the end of the first leg, it seemed that the fire within this squad of players had dried down. But, whether Eoin Morgan would be able to lift the spirits (no Hundred pun intended) or not, it is to be seen. KKR will restart its campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore on September 20. 

The updated squad of Kolkata Knight Riders of IPL 2021 second leg: 

Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Tim Southee