IPL 2022: 3 players KKR could have gone for instead of Aaron Finch
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have assembled a 25-member squad ahead of this year's edition of the IPL. They had signed England opener Alex Hales for ₹1.5 crore at the IPL mega auction, but he pulled out of the tournament citing bio-bubble fatigue.
KKR have now roped in Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch as a replacement for the England opener. However, Finch hasn't been in the best of form in recent times.
Since 2021, he has scored 996 runs in 41 innings. Although he led Australia to their maiden T20 World Cup title, he was unable to perform with the bat in the tournament.
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Did KKR have other options that they could have opted for instead of Finch? Let's take a look at 3 other players who might have been a better option than the Australian opener.
#3 Martin Guptill
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill has been among the best top-order batters for his country in the shortest format. With 8337 runs in 293 matches at an average of 32.06 and a strike rate of 131.04, he has a splendid T20 record.
At the time of writing this article, Guptill was the second-highest run getter in T20 internationals - 3299 runs in 108 innings at a strike rate of 136.71. He performed very well for NZ in the T20I series against India last year in November, after the T20 World Cup.
Guptill has never gotten an extended run in the IPL. He has played just 13 matches across three seasons (2016, 2017, 2019) for three different franchises. The right-handed opener has scored 270 runs at an average of 22.50 and a strike rate of 137.75.
A left-right combination at the top of the order is always an advantage for a T20 batting unit. With Guptill, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, and Nitish Rana, KKR would have had an in-form top 4 going into the tournament.
#2 Paul Stirling
Would have loved to see Paul Stirling in KKR....
Irish opener Paul Stirling has had an impressive T20 career so far. He has scored 6952 runs in 274 innings at an average of 26.63 and a strike rate of 141.67, with two centuries and 47 half-centuries to his name.
Stirling is also the leading run-getter for Ireland in the T20 internationals with 2776 runs at a strike rate of 134.69. His recent form has been good. Since 2021, he has scored 1218 runs in 45 innings at an impressive strike rate of around 139.
In the recently concluded PSL, Stirling had a great time. He scored 187 runs in five innings at a strike rate of over 180 for Islamabad United. His T10 heroics also show us that he is a batter who likes to take on the opposition from the very first ball.
#1 Colin Munro
Colin Munro is one of the most explosive T20 batters in New Zealand. He had a base price of ₹1.5 crore at the IPL mega-auction. Munro was unfortunate to be unsold as overseas openers weren't the most sought-after commodity at the auction.
In 327 T20s, the southpaw has scored 8230 runs at an average of 30.82 and a strike rate of 141.02. He has five centuries and 49 half-centuries to his name. Munro's recent form has been quite impressive. Since 2020, he has scored over 2500 runs at a healthy strike rate of around 133.
KKR's first-choice opener is likely to be Venkatesh Iyer. Two attacking left-handed batters at the top of the order would have perhaps given Kolkata an advantage. Munro has proved himself against all types of bowling in this format, while Iyer has started off quite well in the IPL.