“I don’t think that’s an IPL-winning batting line-up” - AB de Villiers makes big statement on one of the top franchises ahead of 2024 season

Former South African batter AB de Villiers reckons that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) do not have a strong enough batting line-up to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He singled out Shreyas Iyer and Rinku Singh for special praise but maintained that the overall batting isn’t among the best when compared to some of the other bigger franchises in the IPL.

KKR purchased 10 players at the IPL 2024 auction, prominently bowlers. They shelled out a record amount of ₹24.75 crore for Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc. They also purchased Afghan off-spinner Mujeeb Rahman for ₹2 crore. Among batters, they went for Manish Pandey and Sherfane Rutherford.

While analyzing KKR’s squad for IPL 2024 on his YouTube channel, De Villiers picked the lack of quality in batting as the franchise’s Achilles' heel.

“I think their bowling attack is fantastic. The issue lies in the batting department. They don’t have bad batters, but I don’t think that’s an IPL-winning batting line-up. Shreyas Iyer is a wonderful batter. He delights me up the order there. Rinku Singh is a good finisher," he said.

"The batting line-up doesn’t look bad, but I don’t think it’s one of the top four batting line-ups at this year’s IPL. That’s what I think KKR is lacking at this year’s IPL,” the 39-year-old opined.

Apart from Shreyas and Rinku, Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Andre Russell, and Venkatesh Iyer are some of the key members of KKR’s batting lineup for the 2024 season.

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“Daryl Mitchell was very much needed” - De Villiers on CSK’s costliest buy at the IPL 2024 auction

Sharing his views on defending champions Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) IPL 2024 auction buys, De Villiers admitted that Daryl Mitchell was bought for a slightly higher price at ₹14 crore. He, however, added the CSK needed a player like him in the middle-order, with Ambati Rayudu having retired.

“CSK is the street smart team of the IPL and they have been that forever. I think Daryl Mitchell was very much needed and Rachin Ravindra in that middle order. Both New Zealanders have had very good World Cups, scoring hundreds. Shardul Thakur, he is a fantastic cricket player in all formats. One of the biggest steals in this year’s IPL,” De Villiers said.

Mitchell scored 552 runs in nine innings at an average of 69 in the 2023 World Cup, while Ravindra hammered 578 runs in 10 innings, averaging 64.22.