Kolkata Knight Riders hogged the limelight during IPL 2020 auction by making the costliest pick of the day – they bought Pat Cummins for Rs 15.50 Crore. The Australian pacer drew bids from Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. KKR, as revealed by the team management, were always interested in him and once he was on the verge of touching the mark of 15 Crore, KKR entered the race and made the final bid soon.
Eoin Morgan was another purchase that surprised many – he was bought for Rs 5.25 Crore. Morgan is a World Cup-winning captain but the same player went unsold in IPL 2018 auction. Also, his IPL record – Morgan has 854 runs in 52 matches – isn’t impressive.
KKR already have their four overseas players who will be part of playing XI and it remains to be seen how the franchise will fit Morgan in the squad.
Varun Chakravarthy was another surprising pick for Rs 4 Crore. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab for Rs 8.4 Crore in IPL 2019 auction but only played one game before being ruled out He hasn’t played any form of domestic cricket since then.
Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik, Pravin Tambe and M Siddharth were other additions to KKR’s squad.
There will be no change in the leadership role and Dinesh Karthik will continue to lead the team, Brendon McCullum confirmed during the IPL auction. However, the franchise might elevate Shubman Gill to the post of vice-captain with an eye on the future.
KKR do have a solid squad but they have always had their challengers and the team management has to make sure that they keep the dressing room’s atmosphere healthy.
Apart from McCullum, Kyle Mills and David Hussey were other coaches who joined KKR, replacing the former coaching staff headed by Jacques Kallis, which also included Simon Katich.
Squad: Dinesh Karthik (Captain), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Siddesh Lad, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Harry Gurney, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, M Siddharth, Pat Cummins, Pravin Tambe, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Tom Banton.