The Kolkata Knight Riders made headlines as they bought Australia pacer Mitchell Starc for a record 24.74 crore on Tuesday at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. While the purchase left fans worried as the franchise had only 6.95 Cr left to fill up 9 spots in the squad, the franchise managed to get some domestic talents to complete their squad.
Having released a considerable number of players, including notable names like Shardul Thakur and Lockie Ferguson, the Knight Riders paved the way for a substantial overhaul. This move comes just a year after trading the duo for substantial sums.
Following consecutive seventh-place finishes in the last two seasons, KKR management decided on a reset strategy. Gambhir, who led KKR to two IPL titles, returns as a mentor, as the team initiated the overhaul by releasing 12 players, including notable names such as Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, and Shardul Thakur.
The batting lineup seems set with the return of Shreyas Iyer, complemented by Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell. However, the release of most pacers raised the need for fast bowlers, which explained why the KKR went all in to bag the Australian pacer.
Mitchell Starc, with his proficiency and prior experience at Eden Gardens, could add another dimension to KKR’s potential roster.
KKR Squad details at a glance after IPL 2024 Auction:
- Retained list: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
- Released list: Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Aarya Desai, David Wiese, Narayan Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Johnson Charles
- Auction picks: KS Bharat (50 lakh), Chetan Sakariya (50 lakh), Mitchell Starc (24.75 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (20 Lakh), Ramandeep Singh (20 Lakh), Sherfane Rutherford (1.5 crore), Sakib Hussain (20 Lakh)
- Full Squad: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Sakib Hussain,
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