IPL 2019: 3 Delhi Capitals players Kolkata Knight Riders wished they had
The 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League has entered its business end, with the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings, the Delhi Capitals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad making it to the playoffs.
This season's league table looked a bit different as compared to previous ones as SRH became the first team in IPL's history to qualify for the playoffs with just 12 points, while MI, CSK and DC had 18 points each. It was a very competitive season, and one of the teams which started very well before fading away were the Kolkata Knight Riders, who eventually couldn't make it into the playoffs.
The biggest reason for their non-qualification was the lack of depth they had in their fast bowling department. Before the start of the tournament, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti were ruled out which left the Dinesh Karthik-led side short on resources.
Also, their over-dependence on the power hitting of Andre Russell cost them dearly and it was another case of how individuals cannot win you tournaments. But one team which made it through the playoffs were the Delhi Capitals. There are some players in that DC line-up whom Karthik would have loved to have in his team. So, in this slideshow, we take a look at the three DC players who KKR wished they had:
#3 Keemo Paul
KKR's problems lied in their inability to contain the opposition during the middle overs. Karthik was hugely dependent on the spin trio of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav to keep a grip in the middle overs but all the three bowlers were very inconsistent and to be fair, the Kolkata wicket wasn't assisting spin much.
That is where Karthik would have loved to have someone like Keemo Paul, who has all the variations in the book and can keep it tight. In the six matches he has played for Delhi this season, he has picked up six wickets at an economy rate of just 7.5.
The West Indian would have been a brilliant addition to a somewhat lacklustre KKR bowling attack.