Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), led by Shreyas Iyer, is one side that was very active during the retention phase before the IPL mini-auctions 2023. They let go of many players due to an ordinary IPL 2022 edition where they finished 6th after winning just 6 games, but at the same time, they also ensured getting some smart buys through the trade window just before the auctions.
What happened?
KKR released as many as 16 players from the team, including the likes of Nabi, Rahane, Alex Hales (withdraw), and Finch from the team that played last season. But in the window opened for any trade between the teams, KKR bought the Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur from Delhi Capitals and the overseas duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Lockie Ferguson from the Gujarat Titans. This means that the core team is almost set, and the only task left is to find backups for the primary first-choice players.
Retained Players
Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh
Released Players
Pat Cummins, Sam Billings, Aman Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Nabi, Chamika Karunaratne, Aaron Finch, Alex Hales, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Sheldon Jackson
Purse Remaining & Remaining Slots
Purse remaining going into the auctions INR 7.05 crores
Players got through trade from other teams: Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson
Overseas slots remaining to be filled: 3
KKR, as a result of their aggressiveness during the trade window, have only 7.05 crores up in their sleeves when they go into the auctions. They will most likely be silent in the auctions but finding the 3 overseas players could be crucial. They have a vacant top-order foreign batting slot left and require an all-rounder who can be a backup to the injury-prone Andre Russell. The Indian domestic batting talents should also be a priority, given their bulk release of the same.