IPL 2020 Auction: 3 areas of concern for KKR and who they should target
The Kolkata Knight Riders stole the spotlight with the release of three high profile names in Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Piyush Chawla ahead of the IPL 2020 player auctions but will certainly find themselves in a comfortable position with a purse of ₹35.65 Crore left to spend and 11 slots to fill.
Under captain Dinesh Karthik, KKR finished 5th with 6 wins from 14 matches and just missed out on a spot in the knockouts stages last season but have retained some key players in Andre Russell, Nitish Rana among other big names for IPL 2020.
KKR traded in Siddhesh Lad from the Mumbai Indians during the trading window, and while he adds depth to the middle order, the Knight Riders look to have their pace bowling resources in good shape with the retention of Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney and the young Indian duo of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi.
While the KKR think-tank does have a good amount of money to spend, they will certainly need to fill in a few gaps in the squad. In this article, we try to look at the key areas they will be targetting and the potential players for those positions.
#3 Opening batsman / Specialist middle-order batsman
With the exit of Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa, the KKR top-order looks a bit thin, with only Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana notable names, apart from Sunil Narine's role to bring about quick runs in the powerplay overs.
One must not forget that Narine was not at his absolute best last season, prompting the KKR management to push Gill at the top and handing Narine a position in the lower order. To ensure that the team does not fall short of momentum, they might want to invest in a quality opening batsman or a specialist middle-order batsman and try the Narine-Gill partnership at the top.
Colin Munro could be a name in contention, with the southpaw having turned out for the Trinbago Knight Riders franchise in the Caribbean Premier League. While one might not want to rule out Lynn's return to the franchise, he could be on a lot of the teams' probables list, which makes him an expensive choice.
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West Indies' young sensation Brandon King could be a good pick and his equation with compatriot Sunil Narine could be a good motive for the Knight Riders to hand the CPL 2019's highest run-getter a maiden IPL contract.
As for the middle order batsman, experience could be a key factor that prompts KKR to sign either of David Miller or Eoin Morgan.