It will be intriguing to see who the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) retain after their championship-winning season at IPL 2024. The two-time champions added a third title to their cabinet and now face the challenging task of deciding which core players to keep for the next season. While the rumours of leaving their skipper Shreyas Iyer persist, the Chandrakant Pandit-coached side could also throw up surprises. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are on the wrong side of 30s, while Harshit Rana might be a certainty as an uncapped player. However, Harbhajan Singh thinks otherwise.
Harbhajan Singh on KKR retentions
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports about the potential IPL retentions for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh shared his insights on the matter. “KKR dominated the entire season, so it will be difficult for them to leave or retain anyone. But it’s a matter of retention, so you only have limited numbers that you can retain. If I want to see or if I have to choose my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I think Shreyas Iyer will be there, Phil Salt will be there, Narine will be there, Andre Russell will be there”
He continued by adding Rinku Singh into the mix. Rinku, who is currently on just a 55 lac per-season contract at KKR, is all but certain to get retained around Rs 14 crore. This will be one of the most massive price hikes for a player. “Rinku Singh will be there. I will definitely want to see Rinku Singh. He should be the 5th player to be retained, ” said Harbhajan Singh, who played across three IPL games for KKR.
Ramandeep Singh over Harshit Rana?
One interesting factor that Harbhajan Singh touched was his choice of the uncapped player from KKR. While most expect it to be Harshit Rana, Bhajji went for Ramandeep Singh. While Ramandeep has indeed earned his T20I call-up for the South Africa series, Harshit Rana’s recent achievements make this a particularly debatable decision. It was only today that Harshit Rana got added to India’s squad for the third IND vs. NZ Test in Mumbai. The KKR pacer is also among the 18-man squad for the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
“And if we talk about one more player, who is the last player to be retained? It could be Ramandeep Singh. He is an uncapped player. I think he should be retained. He played very well last year and I have seen his performance in domestic cricket this year as well. So I think this 6th player, Knight Rider, will be retained.,” asserted Harbhajan Singh.
The contrasting trajectories of both players present KKR with an intriguing choice. Ramandeep offers all-round capabilities and has proven himself in the T20 format, particularly in the Emerging Asia Cup. On the other hand, Harshit could lead the pack for KKR as far as pacers are concerned. Harshit, who has been with KKR for three seasons, had a superb IPL 2024, claiming 19 wickets at a surreal bowling strike rate of 13.00. In contrast, Ramandeep showed himself to be a formidable No. 7 finisher, scoring 125 runs at a strike rate of 201.61, as highlighted by his 64 off 34 in the 2024 Emerging Asia Cup semi-final.
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