The reverse countdown to the IPL 2025 Auction has started. The officials of all 10 teams have reached Jeddah for the mega event, which will begin in less than 24 hours.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders grabbed the headlines ahead of the IPL 2025 Auction as they released their skipper Shreyas Iyer. Under his captaincy, KKR became champions for the first time since 2014 in the 2024 edition of IPL.
However, Iyer and the KKR management could not come to an agreement, leading to the skipper's release. The defending champions have retained six players ahead of the mega auction. They are Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, and Varun Chakravarthy.
With ₹57 crore left in the auction purse, Kolkata Knight Riders need to fill up some vacant spots in their squad. Here's what Meta AI thinks the KKR squad will look like after the IPL 2025 Auction.
Batters - Rinku Singh, Ben Duckett (wk), Colin Munro, Prithvi Shaw, Rohan Rana, Shubham Jaiswal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Upendra Yadav (wk), Aaradhya Yadav (wk) and Anmolpreet Singh
Meta AI believes KKR will assemble an explosive opening pair of Prithvi Shaw and Ben Duckett for the new season. The AI tool expects the defending champions to rope in veteran Kiwi batter Colin Munro along with uncapped wicketkeepers Aaradhya Yadav and Upendra Yadav as backup options.
The AI tool thinks KKR will invest in uncapped talents at the mega auction for their batting department. Rising stars like Rohan Rana, Anmolpreet Singh, Shubham Jaiswal, and Sudip Kumar Gharami made it to the predicted KKR squad.
All-rounders - Daryl Mitchell, Dominic Drakes, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Ramandeep Singh
With three quality all-rounders already retained in Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Ramandeep Singh, KKR only need to sign backup options at the IPL 2025 Auction. Meta AI has predicted that the franchise will go of Daryl Mitchell and Dominic Drakes as backup options for Russell and Ramandeep.
Russell, Narine, and Ramandeep played a huge role in KKR's success earlier this year. The trio will once again hold the key to the team's success in IPL 2025.
Bowlers - Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Manoj Bhadange, Vicky Ostwal, Ramesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy will continue to lead the KKR spin attack along with Sunil Narine. As per Meta AI, Kiwi's express pacer Lockie Ferguson will join the KKR pace attack along with veteran Indian fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Mohit Sharma. Harshit Rana has already been retained by the team.
As backup options in the bowling unit, the AI tool thinks KKR will go for Manoj Bhadange, who warmed the benches at Royal Challengers Bengaluru in recent seasons. Spinner Vicky Ostwal and left-arm Narine from Jalalabad, Ramesh Kumar also got a place in KKR's predicted squad.
Meta AI predicted KKR squad for IPL 2025
Rinku Singh, Ben Duckett (wk), Colin Munro, Prithvi Shaw, Rohan Rana, Shubham Jaiswal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Upendra Yadav (wk), Aaradhya Yadav (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, Daryl Mitchell, Dominic Drakes, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Manoj Bhadange, Vicky Ostwal, Ramesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma.
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