Top 4 bargain buys by Kolkata Knight Riders over the seasons
Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the most successful IPL teams having won the tournament on two occasions.
The brand of Kolkata started in the first season, when Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan bought the rights of the team. Kolkata were quite aggressive in the 2008 player auction, bringing in some talented players. Brendon Mccullum, Chris Gayle, and Shoaib Akhtar were some great buys made by KKR in 2008.
The Kolkata based franchise is known for the big buys they made over the seasons, including Ishant Sharma for a whopping USD. 950,000 in 2008.
In the recent player auction, they opted for a small squad, picking just 19 players. Chris Lynn and Mitchell Starc were two of the drafts made by the Knight Riders.
In this article, we look at some of Kolkata's best bargain buys in the IPL.
#4 Shakib Al Hasan
The Bangladeshi all-rounder made his IPL debut against Rajasthan Royals in 2011. He was draft by Kolkata for USD 425,000 in the 2011 player auction. Shakib was impressive in his debut season and was re-bought by KKR in 2014 auction. He helped Kolkata win their 2nd title in 2014. In the recent 2018 player auction, Shakib was draft by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 2 crores.
He has labelled a bargain buy this season, scoring 239 runs and taking 14 wickets in his 17 games. He made his ODI debut for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in 2006. Since then, he has represented Bangladesh in 185 ODIs. He was also played 51 tests and 66 T20Is. Shakib is currently ranked 12 in T20Is for all rounders.
Shakib is an integral part of the Bangladesh squad, and is often amongst the runs when he plays for his international side.
Shakib's overall IPL performance:
Matches-60, Runs-737, Average- 21.68, Best score- 66, Wickets- 57, Average- 27.32, Economy- 7.4, Best Figures- 3/17.