IPL 2019: 3 Players who could be surplus at KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders had a decent time in the 2019 IPL Auction as they managed to pull off some remarkable signings while making them stronger for the upcoming edition of IPL. Although Knights made a few lapses here and there, they were pretty considerable in choosing their players at the auction.
Having retained their core group (13 players), Kolkata went into the auction in a bid to fill their voids for the upcoming edition of IPL. Knights were very niche in buying them the players at the 2019 IPL Auction. KKR smartly opted in for the players who will be available for the whole of the tournament.
In total, Kolkata bought eight players at the auction while spending INR 9.15 Crore from their purse of INR 15.2 Crore with Carlos Brathwaite being the most expensive buy at INR 5 Crore.
However, in the process, Kolkata also acquired a few players whom they might not require in the upcoming edition of IPL. Thus, in this article, we will have a look at three players who could be surplus at KKR in IPL 2019.
KKR's final squad after IPL 2019 Auction: Dinesh Karthik (C), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Carlos Brathwaite, Lockie Ferguson, Anrich Nortje, Nikhil Naik, Harry Gurney, Yarra Prithviraj, Joe Denly, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Srikanth Mundhe and Piyush Chawla.
#1 Nikhil Naik
Nikhil Naik, a wicket-keeper batsman from Maharashtra, who once was a part of KXIP in 2016, was acquired by Knights at 2019 IPL Auction for INR 20 Lacs.
In his only two outings in IPL, Naik managed to score only 23 runs at a sorry strike-rate of 74.19. Unfortunately after his dismal performance, Nikhil was left out by KXIP. Howbeit, he saw his IPL fortunes turning as Nikhil managed to get a team at IPL 2019 Auction in the name of KKR.
Nonetheless, Naik's addition to KKR's squad might prove to be futile as him being a wicket-keeper Nikhil will be warming the bench for most of the IPL 2019. Not only does KKR have Dinesh Karthik but they also possess Robin Uthappa who will be donning the gloves in the absence of Karthik - if ever he gets injured.
Thus, Naik's signing might just come as a groundless thing as Knights will fail more often than not in giving him a game in IPL 2019.