IPL 2020: 3 players KKR might release ahead of the auction
Kolkata Knight Riders have had a rich history in the Indian Premier League, having won the coveted title twice in the last 12 years. The Kolkata-based franchise, which is owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Kha,n had won its first-ever IPL title in the year 2012 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. The same man led them to the championship once again in the year 2014 as they claimed their 2nd title after defeating Kings XI Punjab in a nerve-wracking finale.
The Dinesh Karthik-led side did not have a great outing last year as they finished at the 5th position on the points table with just 12 points from 14 fixtures. KKR had won mere 6 games in IPL 2019 despite having a star-studded squad. The side had a perfect mixture of Indian and foreign talent yet it did not live up to expectations.
KKR have a range of big-hitters in their team namely Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine and Carlos Brathwaite who can change the game in no time. However, there were a few players who could not provide enough support to the big stars which ultimately led to the team’s exit from the tournament.
This article features the list of such 3 under performers who might be released by Kolkata Knight Riders before the auction of IPL 2020. They are:
#3 Robin Uthappa
Matches - 12, Runs - 282, Strike Rate - 115.10
Kolkata Knight Riders’ star wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa seemed to have lost his form in the previous season of IPL. Even though he did not keep the wickets for his side owing to the presence of Dinesh Karthik, Robin failed to impress the cricketing world with his batting skills. He received 12 chances to justify his worth in IPL 2019 but the Karnataka-born batsman could not.
The 33-year-old IPL veteran scored 282 runs from 12 matches. His strike-rate of 115.10 had slowed down KKR’s innings on multiple occasions. Even though his highest score in IPL 2019 was 67 runs, KKR may release him and look for a younger talent in the middle order.
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