IPL Auction 2020: One player each team should have retained

Kolkata Knight Riders- Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn is a great striker of the ball. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

One of the most baffling decisions ahead of the auction was Kolkata Knight Riders releasing Chris Lynn. The Aussie opener was released by the franchise along with big names like Robin Uthappa and Carlos Brathwaite. But while KKR had good reason to release Uthappa and Brathwaite, their decision to release Lynn is a potential blunder.

Chris Lynn performed pretty well at the top for KKR scoring 405 runs in 13 matches at a healthy strike-rate of 139.65 and an average of 31.15. He was the one who often made the runs for KKR at the top as both Narine and Uthappa looked out of form last season.

Outside of the IPL, Lynn's stats in T20s are even better. He was a key part of the Winnipeg Hawks who won the title and scored 295 runs from just 7 matches at an astounding strike-rate of 186.70. In the ongoing Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, he scored an unbeaten 91 off just 30 balls showcasing his tremendous hitting abilities. He's a very experienced T20 player and has scored more than 4400 runs in 155 innings and has a great career strike-rate of 141.96.

With an impressive T20 record and a decent showing last season, there seems to be no basis for KKR's decision to release Lynn. They certainly don't need to look for an alternative as his performances have been more than satisfactory.

Even if it was for acquiring him for a cheaper price than what they initially bought him for (₹9.6 Crore), there are a lot of chances for the bidding to exceed that amount. This is a league in which even inexperienced and often unknown players go for big money, if proven performers like Lynn feature in the auction, the bidding is sure to be high.

Let's just hope that KKR does manage to get this quality opener back, how much ever it may cost them.