Kolkata Knight Riders ask fans to send suggestions ahead of the 2019 IPL auction
What's the story?
Two-time IPL winners, Kolkata Knight Riders took to Twitter asking fans to suggest the names of the players they should buy at the 2019 IPL auctions to be held at Jaipur on December 18.
The Background
The Knight Riders, who finished third last season after losing to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier-2 released as many as eight players from their 2018 squad during the IPL trading window that concluded on November 15. Understandably, Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc who was bought for a whopping INR 9.4 crore last season was the notable absentee from the list of retained players.
Ahead of the 2019 IPL auction, Dinesh Karthik's men have INR 15.20 crore left in their purse with 12 slots available (7 Indian, 5 overseas) and will mainly be looking to strengthen their pace attack having released quality pacers like Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johson, Tom Curran, Vinay Kumar and Javon Searles.
The heart of the matter
With less than a week to go for the high-profile 2019 IPL auction, the Kolkata Knight Riders took to Twitter for suggestions from fans as to who might fit in their squad and whom they must target in order to strengthen their armour ahead of the 12th edition of the IPL which is likely to begin in late March keeping in mind the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup and the Indian General elections. Indeed it's a good opportunity for the fans to stay close with their team by voicing their opinions and strategies about the upcoming auction.
What's next?
The Kolkata Knight Riders have already got some big names in their ranks- the likes of Chriss Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Dinesh Karthik. But there are some areas that need to be addressed in order to form a strong, balanced squad. If they do that, then they might go all the way at the 2019 IPL!