IPL 2020: Kolkata Knight Riders team profile - KKR Full squad, KKR players to watch out for
 |
Kolkata Knight Riders |
IPL 2020: KKR shelved out a whopping 15.5 crores – the most for an overseas player in the history of IPL - to get Australian all-rounder Pat Cummins.
After winning four of their first five matches, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have lost six games in a row at the IPL 2019 and pulled back from the IPL playoff race. They finished in 5th place with six wins in 8 matches. KKR won the title in 2012 and 2014, but for the last three seasons, they have not been able to reach the final.
ALSO READ: Full IPL 2020 Schedule
KKR shelved a whopping 15.5 crores (the maximum for a foreign player in IPL history) to get his hands on Australian Pat Cummins. They also made the squad of England captain Eoin Morgan and rising young batsman Tom Banton to bolster their squad.
The Calcutta franchise made some difficult decisions, ditching old warhorses like Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, and Piyush Chawla. But KKR has also shown tremendous faith in young pacers Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who have not played a game last season due to injury.
Players like Shubman Gill will be one of their key weapons alongside Captain Dinesh Kartik, who will lead the team for the third straight season.
KKR also has new support staff: Brandon McCallum returns to the franchise, but this time as head coach.
KKR Team: Shubman Gill, Siddesh Lad, Andre Russell, Dinesh Kartik (c & wk), Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Harry Gurney, Locke Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Prasad Krishna Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarti, Tom Benton, Rahul Tripathi, Pravin Tambe, M. Siddhart, Chris Green, Nikhil Nike
Three Indian players to watch out for
Dinesh Kartik
Kartik may have lost his place on the Indian squad following the disappointing ODI World Cup, but the batsman keeping the wicket is still a force to be reckoned with in T20. However, he had a quiet IPL last season by comparison with his standards. Kartik has scored just 253 runs in 14 games, with just over 2 points to his name. The seasoned campaigner hoped to fix this and lead KKR to the title in the IPL 2020.
Schubman Gill
Gill was named the new player of the tournament for his impressive performance at the IPL 2019. He scored 296 points in 14 games but lost most of the tournament in sixth place. When the right-hander was promoted, he was immediately successful. Gill has come a long way since then. Based on his excellent performance in India A, Gill also received his first test challenge last year. The Punjab batsman will be looking to showcase his talents at the IPL 2020.
Kuldip Yadav
The Chinaman lure is one of the best when it comes to bowling in the shortest game format. But he was eliminated from KKR playing XI after a failed first half of the tournament. The left-handed player will also keep an eye on this spot on the Indian side at the T20 World Cup later this year and will be looking to make a mark this IPL season.
Three foreigners to watch out for
Andre Russell
Jamaican is pure strength with a cricket bat as well as a comfortable option with a ball. He made 510 runs last season on a phenomenal strike rate of 204.81 and 11 wickets. He was practically the staff for KKR, hitting 52 sixes in the tournament. KKR will be looking forward to Russell's next all-around.
Sunil Narine
Narine remains a constant threat to KKR. There was a lot of buzz around KKR's decision to keep him after collecting just 10 wickets in 12 games and scoring 143 bat wounds, but the franchise has shown their faith in a dependable warrior and Narine will now have to get the faith back.
Pat Cummins
Australia's # 1 Test Bowler ranked Pat Cummins will be in the spotlight when he appears at the 2020 IPL for KKR. At the auctions, he has raised for Rs 15.5 crore and will be pressured.
| Player | Role | Price |
| Andre Russell (R) | Batsman | 8.50 crore |
| Harry Gurney (R) | Batsman | 75 lakhs |
| Kamlesh Nagarkoti (R) | Batsman | 3.20 crore |
| Lockie Ferguson (R) | Batsman | 1.60 crore |
| Nitish Rana (R) | Batsman | 3.40 crore |
| Prasidh Krishna (R) | Batsman | 20 lakhs |
| Rinku Singh (R) | Batsman | 80 lakhs |
| Shubham Gill (R) | Batsman | 1.80 crore |
| Siddhesh Lad (R) | Batsman | 20 lakhs |
| Eoin Morgan | Batsman | 5.25 crore |
| Tom Banton | Batsman | 1 crore |
| Rahul Tripathi | Batsman | 60 lakhs |
| Dinesh Karthik (R) | Wicket Keeper | 7.40 crore |
| Nikhil Shankar Naik | Wicket Keeper | 20 lakhs |
| Sunil Narine (R) | All-Rounder | 12.50 crore |
| Pat Cummins | All-Rounder | 15.5 crore |
| Shivam Mavi (R) | All-Rounder | 3 crore |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | All-Rounder | 4 crore |
| Chris Green | All-Rounder | 20 lakhs |
| Kuldeep Yadav (R) | Bowler | 5.80 crore |
| Sandeep Warrier (R) | Bowler | 20 lakhs |
| Pravin Tambe | Bowler | 20 lakhs |
| M Siddharth | Bowler | 20 lakhs |
*R- Retained
0 Comments