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Kolkata Knight Riders are the third most successful franchise in the history of IPL, but they endured a difficult 2019 as they could not reach the knockouts, even with Andre Russell’s superhuman performances. Towards the end of the 2019 IPL, rifts between senior players and lack of squad depth hurt them badly. They released some of their key players such as Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, and Piyush Chawla as they failed to make an impact in the 2019 edition.
Going into the auction, they were looking for a decent backup all-rounder for Russell, and a world-class fast bowling spearhead. At the end of the auction, they will be satisfied with the players they purchased as their squad is a great mixture of exciting youngsters and experienced veterans. KKR bought a total of nine players, including four foreigners, and spent INR 27.15 crores in the process. Here are their three biggest buys in the auction,
#3 Varun Chakravarthy - ₹4 Crores
In the 2019 auction, Kings XI Punjab surprised everyone by acquiring a relatively unknown Varun Chakravarthy for INR 8.4 crores. He played only one game for Punjab and was ruled out of the season due to an injury. He did not feature in any first-class or List A fixture in the past year for Tamil Nadu and no one was expecting him to get sold for INR 4 crores.
Varun could either be KKR’s trump card or one of their uninspired buys, as the price tag looks a bit hefty for a player with so little experience at the highest level. He will be under pressure to fill the void left by veteran Piyush Chawla but if the Kolkata track suits him well, it will be hard for the opposition batsmen to deal with his variations.
List A record - Innings: 9 Wickets: 22 Economy: 4.23 Strike Rate: 23.6
#2 Eoin Morgan ₹ 5.25 Crores
The World Cup-winning captain and one of the most destructive middle-order batsman will represent the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2020 edition. His ice-cool nature and belief in hard-hitting cricket will bring some much-needed vigour to the KKR camp. INR 5.25 crores is a decent price for a player of such reputation and KKR will be extremely happy with this buy.
Eoin Morgan's first job with KKR will be to make the senior players feel comfortable in the dressing room as they seemingly did not get along well during IPL 2019. His second and probably his most important role will be to guide talented youngsters such as Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana. If everyone stays fit, the Kolkata outfit will be a difficult team to beat in IPL 2020.
T20 stats - Innings: 268 Runs: 6185 Average: 26.77 Strike Rate: 131.37
#1 Pat Cummins - ₹15.5 Crores
Ever since he came back from a long injury layoff, Pat Cummins has been incredibly consistent for Australia across all formats. There are few in the world who can match his speed and intelligence with the ball and he was naturally expected to create chaos once his name came up in the auction. Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore indulged in a bidding war and just when it seemed like RCB will get his services, KKR came in with a bid and got him for a whopping price of INR 15.5 crores.
Cummins might be world-class but he has a few challenges ahead of him as he does not have a considerable amount of IPL experience. Also, the short boundaries at the Eden Gardens can dishearten any bowler and hence, it is to be seen whether the second-biggest buy in the history of IPL auction can adjust and deliver for his new team.
T20 stats - Innings: 77 Wickets: 92 Economy: 7.72 Strike Rate: 19.0
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