IPL 2022: Predicting first-choice overseas players of Kolkata Knight Riders

Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a very good mega auction as they purchased a total number of 21 players with four players including Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer already retained by the franchise.

KKR made their highest bidding for Shreyas Iyer, purchasing him for a whopping INR 12.25 crore. Among other prominent Indian players, KKR bagged Nitish Rana for INR 8 crore, pacer Shivam Mavi for INR 7.25 crore and senior batter Ajinkya Rahane at INR 1 crore.

Among overseas players, Kolkata went for pace bowler Pat Cummins for INR 7.25 crore, Sam Billings INR 2 crore, Mohammad Nabi INR 1 crore and Sri Lanka allrounder Chamika Karunaratne INR 50 lakh.

As per the rules, any IPL team can play with a maximum number of four overseas players in their playing XI. KKR have a few quality foreign options in their squad.

Here are four overseas players for IPL 2022:

1. Sunil Narine

West Indies allrounder Sunil Narine has been an integral part of KKR franchise for past many years. In the initial years of the tournament, the 33-year-old was nearly unplayable as teams were trying to figure out his mystery deliveries. However, after allegations were raised over Narine’s bowling action, the bowler lost his venom in the bowling.

However, with franchise’s faith still intact with the allrounder, Narine made his comeback after re-modelling his bowling action and started doing his usual business of taking wickets at crucial junctures. Over the years, Narine has also presented himself as a handful batter as well providing quick starts at top of the order for KKR.

It is to be noted that Narine played an important role in resurrecting KKR’s IPL 2021 campaign after a disastrous start. The right-arm bowler scalped a total of 16 wickets in 14 games with a brilliant economy rate of 6.44. He also scored 62 runs in the season, including a 15-ball 26 in the Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

2. Andre Russell

Despite having a campaign plagued by injuries and poor form in IPL 2021, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was KKR’s most expensive retention ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. That speaks the volume of faith the franchise has for their destructive allrounder. Russell only played ten matches for the franchise in last season scoring 183 runs at an average of 26.14 while striking the ball at 152.50. However, impressed everyone with his bowling by claiming 11 wickets, with best figures of 5-15 against Mumbai Indians.

The 33-year-old had an outstanding IPL campaign in 2019, smashing 510 runs in 14 games at an amazing strike rate of 204.81, including four fifties. However, he has failed to replicate those exploits since then. In the IPL 2020 season, he managed to score only 117 runs at an average of just 13.

Russell is an impact player who can shift the course of games within a span of few deliveries, which he has shown in his previous performances for the franchise Moreover, he can be a lethal option for KKR in bowling department as well. The allrounder has a great ability to nail the yorkers in death overs.

3. Pat Cummins

Known for express pace and his wicket taking abilities, Pat Cummins is likely to feature in KKR’s first-choice XI. Few might feel that the star pacer has not showed his best in the tournament, but Cummins has provided glimpses of his true prowess in previous seasons. As a result, KKR bought Cummins back at a of INR 7.25 crore.

Some of the biggest plus points of having Cummins is that the pacer can provide vital breakthroughs in any stage of the inning. Add to that, the 28-year old batter can be very dangerous with the bat as well. He showed some glimpses of it as he nearly pulled off a miraculous win for KKR against CSK with his brutal hitting in the last season. Cummins is also a good fielder and can take key field positions when he is not bowling.

Cummins has represented KKR in the last two IPL seasons. In 2020, the pacer scalped 12 wickets in his 14 games. During the last tournament, the pacer was a lot more lethal as compared to 2020. Cummins took nine wickets in seven games he played, but did not feature in the UAE leg due to personal reasons.

4. Alex Hales

Destructive English opener Alex Hales can become the perfect partner for Venkatesh Iyer to start the proceedings for KKR in the upcoming IPL 2022. The hard-hitting batter will be marking his return in IPL after getting picked by KKR in the auction at a cost of INR 1.5 crore.

Known for his high strike rate, Hales can provide the momentum for his franchise at any stage of the innings. Although the batter is yet to prove his worth in biggest cricketing league in the world, Hales was the first English batter to score a hundred in T20Is.

Talking about his numbers in shortest format of the game, he has represented England in 60 T20Is and has amassed 1644 runs at an average of 31.02. The right-handed batter has already represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2018 season.

Other available options: Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi and Chamika Karunaratne