IPL 2019: 3 Delhi Capitals players Kolkata Knight Riders wished they had

The 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League has entered its business end, with the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings, the Delhi Capitals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad making it to the playoffs.

This season's league table looked a bit different as compared to previous ones as SRH became the first team in IPL's history to qualify for the playoffs with just 12 points, while MI, CSK and DC had 18 points each. It was a very competitive season, and one of the teams which started very well before fading away were the Kolkata Knight Riders, who eventually couldn't make it into the playoffs.

The biggest reason for their non-qualification was the lack of depth they had in their fast bowling department. Before the start of the tournament, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti were ruled out which left the Dinesh Karthik-led side short on resources.

Also, their over-dependence on the power hitting of Andre Russell cost them dearly and it was another case of how individuals cannot win you tournaments. But one team which made it through the playoffs were the Delhi Capitals. There are some players in that DC line-up whom Karthik would have loved to have in his team. So, in this slideshow, we take a look at the three DC players who KKR wished they had:

#3 Keemo Paul

(Image Courtesy IPLT20 BCCI)

KKR's problems lied in their inability to contain the opposition during the middle overs. Karthik was hugely dependent on the spin trio of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav to keep a grip in the middle overs but all the three bowlers were very inconsistent and to be fair, the Kolkata wicket wasn't assisting spin much.

That is where Karthik would have loved to have someone like Keemo Paul, who has all the variations in the book and can keep it tight. In the six matches he has played for Delhi this season, he has picked up six wickets at an economy rate of just 7.5.

The West Indian would have been a brilliant addition to a somewhat lacklustre KKR bowling attack.

#2 Ishant Sharma

(Image Courtesy IPLT20 BCCI)

Kolkata Knight Riders had trouble picking up early wickets in the powerplay which was another reason for their lacklustre season. Karthik simply couldn't find options he could trust upfront to pick up wickets as the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Harry Gurney were all very inconsistent.

Karthik would have loved to have someone like Ishant Sharma, who could have extracted some pace and bounce out of the Kolkata track and get his team some early wickets. Sharma has had a decent IPL this year as in his 11 matches, he has picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.6.

Karthik had some brilliant spinners in his ranks but for some reason, the wicket in Kolkata seemed to have more in it for the pacers. KKR showed too much dependency on their spinners this year and the story could have been different if they had Ishant in their ranks.

#1 Kagiso Rabada

(Image Courtesy IPLT20 BCCI)

If you are a KKR fan reading this article, you would have probably guessed who is going to be the first in this list. KKR had problems in their bowling department from the start to the finish and their death bowling was one of the worst this year.

It was so bad that Karthik had to sometimes try Chawla and Nitish Rana in the death rather than the likes of Gurney, Lockie Ferguson and Krishna. So, how can KKR not wish to have the best bowler in this year's IPL - Kagiso Rabada?

Rabada has had a brilliant IPL and he is currently leading the Purple Cap race. The South African, who has returned to his country due to an injury, has been great both in the powerplay and in the death overs. In his 12 matches, he has picked up 25 wickets at an economy rate of 7.8. Rabada would have definitely added some firepower if he would have played for KKR.