KKR team 2017: Full list of players bought by Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders ensured that they made the most of IPL Auction 2017 and ensured that having released key fast bowlers and Andre Russell’s ban, they begin IPL 2017 with a strong squad that can help them challenge for their third IPL title.
They needed death bowlers and some quality all-rounders to make for what they lost and they did just that as they picked the players that they wanted, went for them with surgical precision and ended up with everyone that they wanted to have a settled and balanced squad ahead of the tenth edition of the tournament.
In total, they bought, they bought nine players at the Auction in Bengaluru and have a squad of 23 players to choose from going into IPL 2017, with the maximum of nine overseas players and also INR 5.4 crore in the bank.
List of players bought by the KKR at the IPL 2017 auction –
| Player | Type | Bought for (Lakhs) | Base price (Lakhs) |
| Trent Boult (NZ) | Left-arm seamer | 500 | 150 |
| Chris Woakes (Eng) | All-rounder | 420 | 200 |
| Nathan Coulter-Nile (Aus) | All-rounder | 350 | 100 |
| Rishi Dhawan (Ind) | All-rounder | 55 | 30 |
| Darren Bravo (WI) | Batsman | 50 | 50 |
| Rovman Powell (WI) | All-rounder | 30 | 30 |
| Sayan Ghosh (Ind) | Right-arm seamer | 10 | 10 |
| R. Sanjay Yadav (Ind) | Left-arm spinner | 10 | 10 |
| Ishank Jaggi (Ind) | Batsman | 10 | 10 |
Having released key fast bowlers who formed an integral part of their sides over the last few years, they needed quality death bowlers and some all-rounders as well as back-up in the batting department. They did all of that on auction day.
At the Auction
With Andre Russell’s one year ban, they knew that they had a big hole to fill but as Gautam Gambhir himself admitted, they were no like-for-like replacement for the West Indian all-rounder who were affordable. While Ben Stokes would have been ideal, he was too expensive and they ended up going for specific players for roles that needed to be filled.
Trent Boult and Chris Woakes were added and for a combined fee that was less than what RCB paid for Tymal Mills, they are great buys, who solved the problem in the squad. Nathan Coulter-Nile adds depth as does Rishi Dhawan, who is an Indian all-rounder, of which there aren’t many.
They also got in two West Indians in Rovman Powell and Darren Bravo for their base price. While the former is a promising all-rounder who could prove to be a handy substitute for Russell, the latter is surprising considering his last T20I was in 2014.
They also added some astute uncapped buys in Sayan Ghosh, Sanjay Yadav and got arguably the steal of the auction when they secured in-form youngster Ishank Jaggi for just 10 lakh.
KKR final squad for IPL 2017 – Gautam Gambhir (C), Sunil Narine, Colin de Grandhomme, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa (WK), Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Lynn, Umesh Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Sheldon Jackson (WK), Ankit Rajpoot, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rishi Dhawan, Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell, Sayan Ghosh, R Sanjay Yadav, Ishank Jaggi