IPL 2021: 5 players KKR should release ahead of the auction

KKR will look to find some players who can lift them out of their run of missing playoffs.

For a side not many tipped to make it big in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stayed in the hunt till the end. They didn't fall off dramatically with six losses in a row as they did in 2019. But there were evident weaknesses.

Close, nerve-wracking wins and thrashing losses shook the team and even inspired a change in captaincy mid-season, ending in KKR missing a playoffs berth on Net Run Rate (NRR).

For 2021, KKR will hope Varun Chakravarthy is more than a one-season wonder, and that Sunil Narine and Andre Russell regain their form and fitness. Eoin Morgan looked dangerous with the bat while Dinesh Karthik did enough to show he could be a finisher yet. The Indian pacers were continuously rotated, but along with Shubman Gill at the top, they should be key next season.

Beyond the KKR core, while their new signings looked promising, some bitterly disappointed. Here are the five players KKR should release ahead of the auctions.

#5 Siddhesh Lad (IPL 2020)

Siddhesh Lad might continue hiding in the IPL's shadows as he has over the years.

Traded in from Mumbai Indians at the start of the 2020 IPL season, Mumbai batsman Siddhesh Lad did not get an opportunity to impress. He had to wait in the wings behind KKR's trusted talent, Rahul Tripathi and Rinku Singh.

Siddhesh's IPL career is yet to bloo, with him having played just one unremarkable match in 2019. An Indian batsman with a decent reputation in the domestic circuit, Siddhesh has been sidelined as younger and more expressive talents were preferred.

His domestic T20 numbers - an average in the twenties with a strike rate just above 120 - leaves a lot to be desired. KKR can invest in more promising Indian batsmen.

#4 Sandeep Warrier (IPL 2019-2020)

Sandeep Warrier bowled three overs in the season, and may not bowl for KKR next season.

Kerala pacer Sandeep Warrier was KKR's go-to option when their pace attack crumbled in the 2019 season. His foray of three games in 2019 went reasonably well and his economy rate of 7 prompted retention.

Playing KKR's season opener - a match the team would happily forget - Warrier was carted by the Mumbai Indians. His three overs went for 34 runs, and he was not selected in the playing XI again. As KKR increasingly looked to rely on their young pacers in the season, Warrier was sidelined.

With three decent Indian pacers who had their moments in IPL 2020, Warrier seems a surplus and might be discarded.