IPL 2019: 3 Openers who KKR Should Target at the Auction
The Kolkata Knight Riders missed out narrowly on a place in the final of IPL 2018 after losing to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2. Their spinners and Dinesh Karthik's performances were their highlights in the tournament. While Andre Russell gave a few match-winning performances, Sunil Narine played a major role both with the ball and the bat. Chris Lynn's performance was lacklustre as he was suffering from a shoulder injury.
With Australians to miss out on a part of IPL, KKR need a good opener to be available as a backup or even replace Lynn. Their middle order was good on a few occasions but often left Karthik to do too much of the scoring in the middle order.
There are plenty of good options available and here are 3 of them.
#3 Jason Roy
Jason Roy can be the perfect opener for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He possesses an attacking mindset while retaining some composure while batting. He is a great player of both pace and spin and is a great fielder as well. He is exceptional during chases and can help take some pressure of Dinesh Karthik.
His numbers opening the batting for England is outstanding. In T20Is this year, he has scored 271 runs from 9 matches at a destructive strike rate of 170 while averaging a healthy 30.02. In international matches this year he has scored 1181 runs at a great average of 38. Roy with his attacking penchant and ability to dominate bowlers right from the start can be a great option for the team.
#2- Anton Devcich
Anton Devcich can be a great option for the Kolkata Knight Riders at this years' auction. He's been in the New Zealand cricketing circuit since 2006. He has been in and out of the national team but has had a great T20 career and his exploits over the last year have been excellent.
Devcich has scored 680 runs in 15 innings while opening the batting this year. He averages 56.66 while hitting at a monstrous strike rate of 158.70. He is handy with the ball and has picked up 62 wickets in 125 matches at a decent economy rate of 7.24. Devcich can be a sensible option for KKR. His experience and attacking batting style can make him a great differential this year when so many players will be taking part in the World Cup and won't be available for the entire tournament
#1- Luke Ronchi
Luke Ronchi is yet another experienced campaigner who the Kolkata Knight Riders can look to add to their squad. A key part of the Islamabad United's title-winning campaign, Ronchi is a great opening batsman who possesses great technique and ability to rotate the strike. He is known to change gears dramatically the longer he stays in the crease.
His stats in T20 games this year have been phenomenal, he has scored 435 runs in 11 innings for the Islamabad United at an extremely impressive strike rate of 182 an average of 43.50. He won 5 Man of the Match awards for his exploits. He can take pressure of Karthik and Uthappa and can hold the fort while Sunil Narine goes on the attack. If he stays longer, he can demolish any bowling lineup on his own and will be a valuable addition to the team.