IPL 2019: Five players KKR might release before the next season
It was an eventful IPL season for Kolkata Knight Riders. Riding high on Andre Russell's incredible striking form, KKR began the season in a spectacular fashion winning 4 off its first 5 games. But the team lost its way in the middle phase of the tournament and ended the season at the 5th place on the points table.
One of the major reasons for the team's inconsistent performance in the season was the poor show by some big ticket players. Kuldeep Yadav was one of the biggest underperformers of the entire season. Also, things didn't seem to be okay in the KKR camp when Russell said that the team's environment isn't healthy.
Then we saw a Dinesh Karthik meltdown in the strategic timeout in KKR's penultimate game against Kings XI Punjab. With the team failing to make it to the playoffs, some changes in the squad are on the cards. Here are five players who might be dropped by KKR before next season.
#5 Lockie Ferguson (Matches - 5, Wickets - 2, Economy - 10.76)
In his short international career Lockie Ferguson has made a name for himself because of his ability to bowl with good speed. The Kiwi speedster also had IPL experience behind him as he had represented Rising Pune Supergiants in IPL 2017. After releasing Mitchell Starc, KKR was looking to bring in fresh faces in the pace department. And thus, they opted for Ferguson.
He was included in the playing XI straightaway but he failed to deliver. The 27-year-old was wayward, giving away too many runs both in the powerplays as well in the death overs. He managed to pick just 2 wickets while bowling at an economy of 10.76 runs per over. Ferguson was eventually dropped from the playing XI as Harry Gurney was preferred to him.
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