A camp full of riddles as KKR will have to come up with solutions to fix the blunders at IPL Auction

The Kolkata Knight Riders are the third most successful team in the Indian Premier League but haven’t been able to replicate the success in the past few seasons as the last time the franchise won an IPL title was in 2014. The team has been struggling to get their hands back on the trophy as they haven’t been able to find the exact combination that was once able to help them win their second IPL trophy under Gautam Gambhir.

The IPL Mega Auction 2022 was the best opportunity for the Knight Riders to develop a team with the perfect blend of young talent with experienced players to help them clinch their third title. However, after the end of the final day of the mega auction, the Knight Riders squad might be out of the biggest mysteries this season. 

While the franchise managed to secure some big names such as Shreyas Iyer, Pat Cummins to their squad, they still lack in various aspects and it will be very interesting to see how the franchise works its way around it. For now, let us take a look at some of the key points from the Kolkata Knight Riders performance at the auction table in this edition of the Indian Premier League.

Stacked with overseas superstars, Kolkata Knight Riders might struggle to fit all pieces of the puzzle into their right place.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have a plethora of overseas superstars at their disposal who are all players that can make it into the playing XI at any point in time. The team secured their West Indian superstars in Sunil Narine and Andre Russell during the retention phase of the auction and then went on to buy names such as Pat Cummins, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi, Tim Southee, and Chamika Karunaratne.

The team can only play four overseas players in a contest and one of those spots is most probably fixed for Sam Billings, as he is perhaps their only competitive option. This leaves the Kolkata Knight Riders with three slots remaining, if they decide to go with Hales, Russell, and Narine, the side misses out on Pat Cummins and vice versa. 

All of these players play a very vital role in their position and cannot be overlooked. This could have been easily fixed if the franchise had gone for a viable Indian wicket-keeper instead of Sheldon Jackson for ₹55 lakhs or Baba Indarjith for ₹20 lakhs.

Nitish Rana bags ₹8 crores. With better options in the market, Kolkata overpays to secure a batter cum part-time bowler in an all-rounder’s category!

Kolkata Knight Riders turned heads with their decision to rely on Nitish Rana in the all-rounder’s category on day one of the auction. While the player has been a reliable batter for the side in the past few seasons, it does not make any sense whatsoever to pay a huge sum of ₹8 crores for someone who does not even bowl consistently for the team. Nitish has always been a situational part-time bowler for the side who is used for slowing down the pace of the game.

The Knight Riders could have easily gone for names such as Deepak Hooda, Krishappa Gowtham, Shivam Dube, or Vijay Shankar who could have easily fit into the squad and strengthened the batting lineup. Hooda was the most expensive out of the before mentioned bunch and he cost the Lucknow Super Giants just ₹5.57 crores, which seems like a far better deal in comparison to the ₹8 crores spent on Nitish.

Kolkata Knight Riders acquire a sea of overseas superstars for just ₹13.75 crores

While the Knight Riders spent a huge amount of their purse on Nitish Rana, they found their entire overseas contingent made up of Pat Cummins, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi, and Chamika Karurnaratne for just a total of ₹13.75 crores from their purse.  This is one of the best buys in the entire auction from any franchise as all of these players on the list are match-winners in their own rights and might prove to be a great addition to the black and gold apart from Cummins who already has been an essential part of the team for the past few seasons.

However, as we mentioned above the franchise will have to consider a lot of variables before including any of these overseas players in their playing XI as they already have Sunil Narine and Andre Russell who take priority over the rest, leaving the franchise to fit these five in the remaining two slots, which could be Kolkata’s biggest headache this season.

Knight Riders hope for a fresh start to the season with Shreyash Iyer most probably to lead the side this season!

The Kolkata Knight Riders will look for a fresh and better start after the heartbreak from last season, as the franchise faced defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in the final of the Indian Premier League last season. The team acquired a new face in Shreyash Iyer as the franchise spent ₹12.25 crores to sign the player to bolster their ranks.

The team has been struggling to find a successor to Gautam Gambhir ever since his departure from the side. They tried to pass the baton to Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan in the following years, but that did not work out in the favour of the team.

The team was looking to bank on Shubhman Gill as their next in line for the position, but after the retention negotiations fell through for the side, they had no options other than to look at possible options available in the market. With the addition of Shreyas Iyer, the Knight Riders now have someone who has the ability and personality to lead the side from the front and maybe replicate the success achieved by Gautam Gambhir in their previous seasons.