IPL Auction 2017: 5 players Kolkata Knight Riders will look to buy

#4 Chris Woakes

Woakes is handy with both bat and ball

When Chris Woakes first burst onto the scene, he was hailed by some as the replacement for James Anderson. But somehow it never really worked out that way until the last couple of years in which he has made a wonderful comeback to international cricket.

Although he is seen primarily as a new ball bowler, he has shown with his variations, yorkers and slower balls during the ODI series against India that he has what it takes to succeed in the shorter formats. There aren’t that many bowlers who can swing the new ball and execute their yorkers at the death, which is what makes him special.

He is the complete package as far as a T20 bowler is concerned and hence will be highly sought-after. The fact that he is a more than handy batsman with an unbeaten 95 to his name in ODIs is another reason why he has a base price of INR 2 crore.

But money is no issue as far as KKR are concerned and the options that he provides make him an option that KKR can’t miss out on.