3 holes KKR might struggle to fill at the IPL 2025 auction ft. a quality captain
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are on the back of arguably their best campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The decorated franchise clinched their third trophy in the 2024 season, finishing in the top two and bulldozing the SunRisers Hyderabad in the playoffs.
Ahead of the new campaign, Kolkata had plenty of decisions to make concerning their retentions. They opted to take a smart, pragmatic approach, releasing the likes of captain Shreyas Iyer. Instead, KKR retained Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ramandeep Singh, and Harshit Rana.
The Knight Riders now have ₹51 crore to spend at the auction, without any RTM cards. Their budget might impede them in Saudi Arabia, with most other teams having bigger purses to work with.
On that note, here are three holes KKR might struggle to fill at the IPL 2025 auction.
#3 Will KKR be able to find a quality captain with their budget?
Having let go of Shreyas, KKR now need to find a captain at the auction. There is the option of picking one from their retained players, but none of them have a great deal of leadership pedigree at this point.
Shreyas won't come cheap at the auction, with a few teams in need of a captain, and Kolkata will struggle to bring him back. Nitish Rana, who has led the franchise before, is an option. But he too won't be easy to acquire, not to mention the fact that he isn't on the same level as Shreyas.
KKR might not even be able to find a solid overseas captain if they want to go down that route. It'll be interesting to see what approach they take.
#2 Kolkata need to find a reliable wicketkeeper
KKR signed Phil Salt as a replacement for Jason Roy, and the move worked wonders for them. The aggressive opener was one of their most valuable players in IPL 2024 and will be in high demand at the auction. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who served as Salt's deputy, will also be sought after, with many teams in need of a keeper.
Will KKR be able to afford either Salt or Gurbaz? It's hard to say since they have an entire team to build with just ₹51 crore to their name. And if not them, the likes of Jos Buttler won't come cheap either, while Quinton de Kock might not pair up very well with Sunil Narine at the top of the order.
#1 Quality overseas fast bowlers won't be easy to come by
KKR splurged on Mitchell Starc at the IPL 2024 auction, making him the most expensive buy in the history of the league. While the Aussie quick was underwhelming for large parts of the league stage, he came good in the playoffs.
Kolkata will likely need to find a specialist overseas fast bowler to partner Harshit and Russell in the pace attack, and their options might be limited owing to their budget. The three-time IPL champions might not be able to acquire their first-choice targets, with some of their domestic retentions now occupying a much greater portion of the budget.