The IPL 2023 Auction was supposed to be a 10-team affair but for the first couple of hours, it looked like only nine teams were present in the auction room in Kochi on Friday. That's because a certain team called Kolkata Knight Riders decided to be mere spectators, instead of joining the bidding action.
It wasn't surprising as KKR went into the auction with a purse of only Rs 7.05 crore, the lowest among all franchises, but they were at least expected to make efforts to get the players that other teams ended up stealing for a bargain.
KKR Let Good Assets Slip Away, Picked Significant Downgrades Instead
Take Odean Smith for example. His name came up in Set 2, just after Sam Curran's big payday of Rs 18.5 crore, and Gujarat Titans bought him at his base price of Rs 50 lakh. None of the other franchises bothered to bid on him, but at least KKR should have.
Smith had a terrible outing in the last IPL season but he is a player who has high batting and bowling potential. He would have served as the perfect backu for Andre Russell, but KKR didn't seem interested in him. Instead, they went on to buy 37-year-old David Wiese later in the auction for 50 lakhs more. Wiese is definitely a more seasoned player, but the acquisition of a player as old as him sums up KKR's lack of long term vision.
They made the same mistake with Phil Salt, whom Delhi Capitals bought for a base price of INR 2 crore. KKR didn't make even a single bid for him, but went on to buy another overseas wicketkeeper-batter in Litton Das later in the auction.
Chris Gayle, one of the greatest T20 batters the world has ever witnessed, had also suggested KKR to go for Salt on the eve of the auction.
"KKR don't have much money left but they should be able to pick up Phil Salt. I don't know why nobody talks about him in the IPL. He is a hard-hitter at the top & can keep as well. While other teams go for the big names, KKR should pick Salt," Gayle had said on the IPL Auction show on Jio Cinema.
Shakib Al Hasan's acquisition also doesn't make much sense considering his declining batting returns in T20 cricket of late. His bowling is still good but KKR will find it difficult to fit him into the XI if the need arises. Shakib is a top-order batter and doesn't add much value down the order.
Dearth of Reserve Domestic Batting Options
KKR did a good job to get an in-form N Jagadeesan on board. The Tamil Nadu batter spent a large part of his career on CSK's bench but he smashed all List A records in the Vijay Hazare Trophy recently when he scored 277 in a match, the highest individual score ever recorded in List A cricket.
Jagadeesan is an excellent top-order batter who can keep wickets as well and it's certainly good to have him as a backup. Punjab's Mandeep Singh, who has a wealth of IPL experience under his belt, is a good addition too.
However, apart from them, KKR's domestic bench strength in terms of batting is really thin. They have 4 Indian batters in their top five and simultaneous injuries to any two of them, more so to the middle-order batters, could ruin their season.
KKR's Reserve Indian Bowling Options Lack Experience
The reserve Indian bowlers doesn't look promising at all. The likes of Vaibhav Arora, Kulwant Khejroliya, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy and Suyash Sharma haven't played much. They have a combined IPL experience of just 15 matches and that sums up everything.
So, it becomes very important for KKR to have the likes of Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy to stay fit and firing throughout the season.
Middle-Order's Issues Against High-End Pace Persist
KKR's middle-order has stayed the same as last year with Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh slotting from number three to five respectively. So, they are effectively carrying their (Iyer and Rana's in particular) issues against high-end pace and hard lengths forward into this season.
Teams that had express pacers in their ranks absolutely bullied them with their pace and hard lengths last season. Remember Umran Malik vs Shreyas Iyer battle in IPL 2022? Those visuals are pretty hard to forget.
Failed to Acquire a Good Backup for Andre Russell
Everyone is aware how dependent KKR are as a team on Andre Russell. They win on most occasions when Russell fires either with the bat or ball. And they lose most of the times when he doesn't. His fitness issues make things even harder for KKR and that's why a good backup is necessary. It's hard to find a like-for-like replacement for him but they didn't go for it when they certainly had it within their reach.
Odean Smith would have been the perfect backup for Russell, even in the long term. But they chose to go with Wiese, who isn't in the best shapes either as he is 37 years old already. He has played in the IPL before. Can he cope up with the intensity of the IPL at this age, though? Doubtful.
Lockie Feeguson is Back, but Death Bowling;s Going to be an Issue Again
KKR's death bowling will have some relief this season as Lockie Ferguson is back in their ranks, but the death bowling is still going to be an issue for them as the numbers of the other bowlers aren't good.
Russell was their designated death-overs specialist last season and he recorded an economy of 11.64 in the phase. Shardul Thakur, whom they traded in for more over INR 10 cr from Delhi Capitals, also went at 11.86 runs per over in the death last season. Ferguson is known for his death bowling skills but even he had a bad outing in IPL 2022 as he conceded 10.98 runs per over in that phase. So, KKR's performance in this phase can again make or break their season.
KKR have so many issues. What about their strengths then? Let's have a look.
Performance of Top and Lower Middle-Order Could Decide Fate in Matches
Venkatesh Iyer had a forgettable outing last season after bursting on to the scene with memorable performances in IPL 2021, but he can be expected to perform well this time once again. He smashed 189 runs in just four innings of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year, at an outstanding average and strike-rate of 63 and 161.53 respectively.
Moreover, KKR have three players in Litton Das, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and N Jagadeesan, each of whom can slot in as Iyer's opening partner. Whoever does, they are expected to give much better returns than what Ajinkya Rahane or Aaron Finch gave last season.
Das recently played a superb knock of 60 from just 27 deliveries in the T20 World Cup against India and he has been in superb batting form overall in the last couple of years. Gurbaz is also a talented batter who has lit up different leagues around the world with his hard-hitting prowess at the top of the order. Jagadeesan also doesn't need any introduction after his most recent exploits in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
KKR's lower middle-order comprising of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell adds to their strength as well. Russell is obviously one of the best T20 batters, who has performed consistently every season in that role for KKR. And Rinku is also developing into a lower middle-order beast steadily. He played seven matches for KKR in IPL 2022 and impressed by amassing 174 runs at an excellent average of 34.80 and strike-rate of 148.72, that too in such a tough role.
He has been seen in excellent form in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. Rinku amassed 335 runs in the VH Trophy at an average of 67 and strike-rate of over 100 and scored another 139 runs in the SMA T20 season, at 46.33 runs per innings and strike-rate of 132.38.
KKR's Got One of the Best Spin-Bowling Pairs and Powerplay Weapons
KKR have made many mistakes in terms of auction strategy and retentions in the last few years but retaining Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy is one of the few good things they have done.
The spin duo went at a combined economy rate of just 6.77 in IPL 2022 to make life tough for the batters. Narine and Chakravarthy are KKR's controlling force in the middle-overs and also in the powerplay and the death if the necessity arises.
Shreyas Iyer will be banking on an equally good performance from them this time to help his team in making it to the final four and beyond, even though that looks like quite an arduous task with this squad.
KKR also got lucky with Umesh Yadav last season. They picked him at base price when no other team wanted him and he turned out to be a deadly powerplay and middle-overs weapon for them. Umesh picked up a total of 16 wickets in IPL 2022, 15 of which came while bowling in the powerplay and the middle-overs. He recorded an excellent powerplay economy rate of 6.42 last season while picking up eight wickets, and KKR will be banking on him once again to set the tone for them.
Probable KKR Playing XI for IPL 2023:
Litton Das (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy
KKR Squad for IPL 2023
KKR's Prediction for IPL 2023
KKR's first XI is quite similar to that of last year. The only changes are in the top order and in the pace bowling department. But that is not likely to help them improve much on their seventh place finish last season. A mid-table finish is on the cards once again.
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