Kolkata Knight Riders
Players retained: Rinku Singh (INR 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (INR 12 crore), Sunil Narine (INR 12 crore), Andre Russell (INR 12 crore), Harshit Rana (INR 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (INR 4 crore)
What do the retained players bring to the table? The core group of six players retained by the defending champions brings solidity. The three all-rounders—Russell, Narine, and Ramandeep—add depth. The mystery spin of Chakravarthy, the quality fast bowling of Harshit, and a reliable batter in Rinku mean that KKR has all bases covered. Russell and Narine are T20 globetrotters, with a wealth of experience in the aforesaid format, and are proven match-winners as well.
Rinku is flexible with the bat; he can play the finisher’s role but can also bat higher up the order if needed. Flexibility is essential, especially in this format of the game. Harshit’s growth as a fast bowler has been promising. He can move the ball off the seam and is clever with his variations. With experience, he’s only going to get better.
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
Chakravarthy has led KKR’s spin bowling with Narine since 2020. The leggie has all the variations up his sleeve, making him a tough bowler to face. Ramandeep, a budding finisher, is an excellent fielder and can roll his arm over if needed.
The disadvantages of Kolkata Knight Riders letting go of key players: KKR have done well to retain most of their match-winners from last season. The only missing piece is Shreyas Iyer, their former skipper. Iyer adds solidity to the middle order with the bat and is a strong leader, but for some reason, he couldn’t be retained by the franchise. Overseas players like Phil Salt and Mitchell Starc, who contributed to KKR’s success last season, will also be missed.
Key Players KKR Aim to Reclaim in the Auction: KKR have no RTMs (Right to Match cards) remaining, which makes it slightly more challenging to buy back players given their limited budget. However, they’ll still aim to re-sign players like Salt, Starc, Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and Nitish Rana.
Lucknow Super Giants
Players retained: Nicholas Pooran (INR 21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (INR 11 crore), Mayank Yadav (INR 11 crore), Mohsin Khan (INR 4 crore), Ayush Badoni (INR 4 crore)
What do the retained players bring to the table? Pooran is a fearsome batter in T20 cricket. Regardless of the conditions, he plays an aggressive brand of cricket, as shown by his overall T20 career strike rate of 148.79. He can keep wickets and brings valuable leadership qualities. LSG has invested in youth, retaining Mayank and Mohsin, two promising pacers of different styles. Bishnoi has proven himself as a match-winner with his wrist spin, and in Badoni, they see a promising young batter with the potential to reach new heights.
The disadvantages of Lucknow Super Giants letting go of key players: By losing KL Rahul, they have lost a captain, top-order batter, and wicketkeeper. Quinton de Kock remains a valuable T20 asset, as does Naveen-ul-Haq. Yash Thakur excelled in the middle overs and at the death, and his absence will be felt as well. The retained group of players lacks an all-rounder, which is why they may miss someone like Marcus Stoinis or Krunal Pandya.
Key Players, LSG Aim to Reclaim in the Auction: Lucknow has one RTM card available, which they may use to buy back Stoinis, who was their marquee player. De Kock and Naveen-ul-Haq are other options that they would likely aim to recapture in the auction.
Also Read: RCB and SRH retentions: A few bold calls and different strategies