Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have a commendable bowling unit, comprising of a perfect blend of experience and talent. The side left no stone unturned in finding a like-for-like replacement after releasing Mitchell Starc, just a year after breaking the bank to secure the services of the Australian pacer. The defending champions have a strong pace battery and an equally impressive spin unit featuring the likes of Sunil Narine, Mayank Markande and Varun Chakravarthy.
Harshit Rana-Anrich Nortje to lead pace attack
KKR’s pace battery is all set to be led by the duo of Harshit Rana and Anrich Nortje. While the bowler from Delhi was retained by the franchise after an impressive season in IPL 2024, the team managed to secure the services of the fiery Proteas pacer who was released by DC ahead of IPL 2025 auction. It doesn’t stop there. KKR’s arsenal comprises of the likes of the young and promising Vaibhav Arora, injury-prone Umran Malik, Spencer Johnson. Besides, the team also has Andre Russell as a back-up option as well.
One concering point for the franchise would be that none of their pacers have an economy rate below 9. In the shortest format of the game and in the exteremly competitive environment such as IPL, it could prove to be a menace for the team, despite the wicket-taking abilities of all pacers.
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Economy | Average |
| Harshit Rana | 21 | 25 | 9.05 | 23.24 |
| Anrich Nortje | 46 | 60 | 8.96 | 26.23 |
| Vaibhav Arora | 20 | 19 | 9.18 | 30.84 |
| Spencer Johnson | 5 | 4 | 9.44 | 34.75 |
| Umran Malik | 26 | 29 | 9.40 | 26.62 |
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Strong spin department ft. Sunil Narine
KKR ensured that they retained old guard Sunil Narine, who will continue to lead the spin department. They also retained mystery man Varun Chakravarthy who has managed to be very efficient with the ball and is one of their leading wicket takers. KKR also managed to bag Moeen Ali at the mega-auction, making yet another valuable addition to their spin unit. Young Mayank Markande and Venkatesh Iyer are other spin options that KKR have at their disposal.
