IPL 2018: 3 players that Kolkata Knight Riders should retain

With the IPL auctions set to take place early next year, all the teams are looking to bolster their squads for the biggest cricketing extravaganza. On November 21, a crucial decision will be taken by the BCCI regarding the player retention policy - they will decide whether the limit on the number of players to be retained per team will be three or five.

Let us look at the three players who hold the key to Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) chances of recapturing the crown next year.

#1 Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir has been instrumental for KKR in recent years

Gautam Gambhir, the skipper, is probably the most important player in the KKR setup. In 2011, Gambhir received a record-breaking bid of 2.4 million US dollars from KKR, making him the most expensive player at the time.

Since then, he has led KKR to two IPL triumphs in 2012 and 2014, and to the playoffs in 2011, 2016 and 2017. Gambhir is one of the highest run scorers in the history of the IPL, with 3,634 runs in 131 innings at an average exceeding 30 and a strike rate of nearly 125.

#2 Andre Russell

Russell is one of the cleanest strikers of the modern game

Andre Russell will be itching to make a comeback after he was ruled out of the 2017 edition due to doping allegations. From scoring a century in just 42 balls to picking up four wickets in four balls, this man has done it all. Add to that his fielding skills, and KKR has on its hands one of the most complete cricketers in this format of the game.

Russell has plied his trade in almost every big league in the world, like the Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, and the Pakistan Super League.

So little has been expressed of his talent that many still moan the fact that KKR snatched its leading wicket-taker for just Rs. 60 lakhs in 2016.

#3 Sunil Narine

Narine celebrates after picking up a wicket

KKR's silent assassin is one of the most effective bowlers in the game. He remains the only bowler to have bowled a maiden over in a T20 game, and has also scored the fastest 50 in the history of the tournament.

Narine was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in KKR's maiden IPL triumph in 2012. The most important aspect of his bowling in the IPL is probably his economy rate which stands at 6.32 runs per over, with 95 wickets in 82 matches.