The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 trading window officially concluded on November 15 at 5 PM, with franchises submitting their final list of retained players ahead of the December 23 auction in Kochi. Kolkata Knight Riders were among the franchises busy reworking their squad, making vital changes ahead of the forthcoming edition.
The Knight Riders traded in Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz from IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans, while also acquiring the services of India all-rounder Shardul Thakur from Delhi Capitals. However, they released Alex Hales due to personal reasons and national team commitments, joining Sam Billings and Pat Cummins in opting out of the upcoming season. The Kolkata franchise now has three overseas slots to fill from their purse in the auction, with INR 7.5 crore available.
In total, the side retained 11 players and traded in three, two from the Titans and one from the Delhi franchise. Kolkata Knight Riders had a disappointing season in 2022, finishing seventh in the points table. With the auction now concluded, the franchise will need to ideate plans and make proper use of their remaining resources.
IPL 2023 Mini-Auction performance
The Kolkata Knight Riders made significant moves during the IPL 2023 Mini Auction held in Kochi on December 23. The two-time champions were inconsistent in the previous season, failing to make it to the playoffs due to a lower net run rate.
With a budget of INR 7.05 crore and 11 available slots (eight for Indian players and three for overseas players), KKR released most of their players, including Pat Cummins, who made himself unavailable to focus on national duties, and Sam Billings, who withdrew from the auction. They also traded Shardul Thakur from the Delhi Capitals, Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz from the Gujarat Titans.
KKR started their auction with a bargain buy, securing promising batter Narayan Jagadeesan for INR 90 lakh. They then invested in uncapped Indian domestic talent Vaibhav Arora for INR 60 lakh and Suyash Sharma for his base price of INR 20 lakh.
The former champions made another astute signing by acquiring David Wiese for INR 1 crore. During the accelerated auction, Kolkata made a splash by signing three seasoned players: Bangladesh’s Litton Das (INR 50 lakh), Shakib Al Hasan (INR 1.5 crore), and Mandeep Singh (INR 50 lakh).
The final Kolkata Knight Riders squad that will play in the IPL 2023 is as follows –
Wicket-Keeper/ Batsmen
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Litton Das
Batsmen
Shreyas Iyer
Nitish Rana
Rinku Singh
N Jagadeesan
Mandeep Singh
All-Rounders
Venkatesh Iyer
Andre Russell
Sunil Narine
Anukul Roy
David Wiese
Shakib Al Hasan
Bowlers
Umesh Yadav
Tim Southee
Harshit Rana
Varun Chakravarthy
Shardul Thakur
Lockie Ferguson
Vaibhav Arora
Suyash Sharma
Kulwant Khejroliya
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