The 2024 season saw the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinching their third IPL title as they defeated SRH in the final. It was a complete team effort where everyone chipped with useful performances, resulting in a historic triumph with Shreyas Iyer at the helm of things and Gautam Gambhir being the mentor.
Now with Gambhir no longer associated with the Knight Riders, the team will have a task in their hands not just in defending the title but in also making several crucial decisions concerning the IPL retentions ahead of the next season.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, an Indian middle-order batter with great leadership potential is an asset for any side, and his presence in the team largely benefited the KKR side in the 2024 edition. He amassed 351 runs in 14 outings at an impressive strike rate of 146.86, in addition to being the captain of the side. This makes him an ideal candidate to be the first one retained by the franchise.
Sunil Narine
A proven match-winner for the KKR team, Sunil Narine played a stellar role in all of the three franchise’s IPL triumphs. Even in the 2024 edition, Narine made a resounding impact by hammering 488 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 180 to go along with taking 17 wickets with the ball. These contributions put KKR in a strong outfit and helped them clinch the title for the third time.
Andre Russell
It will be a no-brainer that KKR’s two overseas retained players will be Andre Russell alongside his West Indies teammate Sunil Narine. Like Narine, Russell too has been part of KKR for more than a decade and has always been retained by the franchise since being part of their setup in the 2014 edition. The duo’s association with the Kolkata team will continue at least for the next cycle as they will be the first 2 players to be retained.
Harshit Rana/ Angkrish Raghuvanshi/ Ramandeep Singh (Uncapped)
The young Indian pacer made a great impact for KKR in IPL 2024 taking 19 wickets from just 13 games and proving to be a valuable addition to their bowling setup that had a great mix of Indian and overseas bowlers. He was impressive as an attacking bowler and succeeded in bowling both in the powerplays as well as in death overs. Harshit could very well be the KKR’s uncapped player to be retained.
However, the catch is that Rana’s performances have earned him a call-up to the Indian T20 squad for the Bangladesh series and if he does make his debut, the pacer wouldn’t be considered as uncapped. In that case, young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi or all-rounder Ramandeep Singh can be viewed as other uncapped options for KKR to retain.
Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh is another batter who will be one of KKR’s 6 potential retained players ahead of the mega auction. He has been a match-winner for the team, playing many impactful knocks in his short career for the team. The left-hander despite having not scored many runs in the 2024 season, has stepped up whenever KKR required him in the middle order.
Phil Salt (RTM)
Phil Salt proved to be an ideal foil for Sunil Narine at the top of the order, forging a solid partnership with the latter throughout the campaign. Coming as a replacement player for the Knight Riders, Salt smashed 435 runs at a stupendous strike rate of 182 with four half-centuries to his name. KRR would look to have him back in their scheme of things by using Right to Match to avail his services.
Check out the same list for other IPL teams here.
