Defending IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders bought 15 players from the mega auction held at Jeddah. The Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise raised eyebrows by spending a whopping 23.75 crore to buy back Venkatesh Iyer. The cricketer from Madhya Pradesh became the most expensive all-rounder in the history of IPL. Apart from getting back Venkatesh, the franchise also brought back the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (2 cr), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (3 cr), Vaibhav Arora (1.8 cr), Manish Pandey (75 lakh) and Anukul Roy (40 lakh), who were all part of the champion side last season.
The franchise also added depth to their squad by signing the likes of South African speedster Anrich Nortje (6.5 cr), West Indies T20I captain Rovman Powell (1.5 cr), England all-rounder Moeen Ali (2 cr) and Umran Malik (75 lakh).
The three-time IPL champions spent 50.5 crore in buying 15 players from the mega auction. They still have 4 Indian slots with a purse of 50 lakhs remaining.
If we look at KKR’s overall squad after the IPL mega auction, the side has a good bowling depth with a mix of genuine fast bowlers and quality spinners. The fast bowling will be spearheaded by Nortje with Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson and Umran Malik providing the perfect back-ups.
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The set-up is loaded with all-rounders – Venkatesh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Moeen and Sunil Narine. Varun Chakravarthy will lead the spin bowling department along with Sunil Narine, apart from leg-spinner Mayank Markande. As far as the batting department is concerned, the franchise will miss the absence of England’s explosive opener Phil Salt. The franchise surprisingly did not bid for Nitish Rana as well. The middle order will be heavily reliant on Rinku Singh and Venkatesh.
West Indian duo, Russell and Narine, are likely to feature in the playing XI for most games along with Nortje. For the remaining overseas slot, it will be a competition between de Kock, Gurbaz, Powell, Johnson and Moeen, depending upon the conditions where they are playing in.
Players brought from IPL mega auction: Venkatesh Iyer (Rs. 23.75 crore), Quinton de Kock (Rs. 3.60 crore), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Rs. 2 crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.50 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Rs. 3 crore), Vaibhav Arora (Rs. 1.80 crore), Mayank Markande (Rs. 30 lakh), Rovman Powell (Rs. 1.50 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs. 75 lakh), Spencer Johnson (Rs. 2.80 crore), Luvnith Sisodia (Rs. 30 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 1.50 lakh), Anukul Roy (Rs. 40 lakh), Moeen Ali (Rs. 2 crore), Umran Malik (Rs. 75 lakh).
Players retained from last season: Rinku Singh (Rs. 13 crore), Chakaravarthy (Rs. 12 crore), Sunil Narine (Rs. 12 crore), Andre Russell (Rs. 12 crore), Harshit Rana (Rs. 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (Rs. 4 crore).
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