Two times champion KKR gave an outstanding show in the 2nd phase of IPL 2021. The young battalion gave a fantastic performance in the last season to reach the final where they eventually lost to Chennai Super Kings. Both SRH and KKR have been the only two teams who were being led by a foreign captain. While from the outside, big names like Kane Williamson & Eoin Morgan look great on paper, the reality of IPL isn’t favor of a foreign captain, it hurts the team badly as it tends to forcefully occupy the place of fourth overseas player. While KKR decided to not go any further with Morgan, this means very clear that SRK’s franchise is looking for a new captain in upcoming auction, preferably an Indian who can repeat Gambhir’s legacy. KKR auction strategy for IPL 2022 Mega Auction would be to choose a new captain and then target some young talents. KKR target players 2022 will be a mix of experience and young talent.
KKR retained players 2022
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝙊𝙎𝙀𝙉 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍 🙌
Andre Russell, Varun Chakaravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer & Sunil Narine have been retained for the upcoming IPL season ✍️#KKR #AmiKKR #GalaxyOfKnights #WeTheFuture #IPLRetention pic.twitter.com/80x2cT1YtC
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) November 30, 2021
The governing committee of IPL gave instructions to all the franchise to publish their retained player list ahead of upcoming IPL season within 30th November. For the IPL 2022 KKR retained their most promising player Andre Russell(12cr INR), Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy (8 cr INR), attacking opener as well as seam bowling all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (8cr INR) and their veteran spinner Sunil Narine (6 cr INR). KKR was compelled to let go of experienced players like Wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, opener Subhman Gill, most expensive player Pat Cummins and also their skipper Eoin Morgan.
KKR auction strategy 2022
IPL 2022 KKR target players – Openers
As KKR released their opener Subhman Gill, they are hunting a opener. Someone like Lokesh Rahul would be a great choice not just for a opener but also for a captain and Wicket-keeper. The reason they should primarily focus on making a core group of indian players is their foreign unit is pretty impressive with Russell and Narine. Australia Captain Aaron Finch will be their another choice for an opener. Finch was unsold in last season after he failed to impress in RCB team but his form in BBL is quiet impressive. They could also go for David Warner whose performance is really impressive in wt20.
IPL 2022 KKR target players – Wicketkeeper
For the wicket keeper, KKR might target Quinton De Kock for IPL 2022. De Kock was released by Mumbai Indians. Last season the left hander piled up 297 runs in 11 matches at an average of 29.70 with 2 half centuries. Wriddhiman Saha might be another wicket-keeper batsman that they pick. He can work as a backup WK. He was part of SRH in previous season where he managed to score 131 runs in 9 games.
IPL 2022 KKR target players – Middle-Order
As far as the middle order is concerned, in the absence of Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik, KKR have got a lot to think about when it comes to build a promising team for next 3 seasons. There are many options for KKR in auction like Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda and Shimron Hetmeyer. The West Indies cricketer Shimron Hetmeyer was part of DC in the last edition where he scored 242 runs in 13 games at an average of 34.57. Deepak Hooda was part of PBKS and he scored 160 runs in 11 matches. He also picked 2 wickets and can also play as an extra bowler. Ambati Rayudu’s last season in CSK den was also promising. KKR might bring back Rahul Tripathi as his performance in the second leg of the IPL last season was also impressive. His individual performance in the recent seasons earn him a place in the list of KKR target players 2022.
IPL 2022 KKR target players – All Rounder
KKR already have De-Russ in their team but for another seam bowling all rounder they might pick Marcus Stoinis. This Australian all rounder smashed 89 runs in 10 innings and also picked 2 wickets last season while he was part of DC. Rahul Tewatia scored 155 runs in 13 wicket and as a spinner he picked 8 wickets while he was part of the franchise Rajasthan Royals last season. So, KKR might pick this all rounder. He is an important candidate in the list of KKR target players 2022.
IPL 2022 KKR target players – Bowlers
For making pace bowling unit strong, KKR might bring back their former players like Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins. Pat’s WC journey was fantastic as well as his last season in IPL was good. He played 7 matches and picked 9 wickets with an average of 26.33. He also smashed a half century in one game. KKR might look into CSK’s Josh Hazlewood . He picked 11 wicket in 9 games. His inclusion in the team with Pat Cummins can do wonder as they play for the same in international team. Seamers like Khaleel Ahmed , Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur might be in the list of KKR target players 2022.
