The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction is just around the corner and the preparations for the same are in full swing. The D-Day is going to take place on December 23, Friday in Kochi. All eyes are on the franchises as they have started planning in order to bolster the squad ahead of the new season. Kolkata Knight Riders might not have much money left in their purse ( ₹7.05 crore) going into the IPL 2023 mini-auction by releasing as many as 16 players from their squad, they have given a clear signal of an overhaul.
Out of the 16 players retained by KKR, at least three of them were forced as Australia Test captain Pat Cummins and England’s Alex Hales and Sam Billings had made themselves unavailable for the next season.
Robin Uthappa Made A Big Prediction
Meanwhile, ahead of the much-awaiting mini-auction, former KKR batter Robin Uthappa has opined that the franchise will look for three players ahead of the auction in order to secure their services. He made a big prediction about the players KKR would be looking for. He said:
“KKR would be looking for three players in this auction – one would be an Indian backup wicketkeeper for Gurbaz. In case, they want flexibility in playing both Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, Gurbaz is the one who would have to sit out as they are not going to drop Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Second player is a backup to Andre Russell,”
Furthermore, Robin also added the side requires the services of backup players because travel plays an important role. He also said that KKR is one team that travels the most as compared to other teams. He said:
“IPL is going back to its original format. So, it is not going to be just one or two venues. There will be a lot of travel. KKR is one such team that travels the most. Kolkata is really far away and they travel atleast 2-3 thousand kms more than all other teams,”
He added: “So, keeping those things in mind, you will have to have a backup just in case, Russell pulls up or he has not recovered due to back-to-back matches. Third would be an Indian fast bowler who would be a backup to Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. They have a couple of youngsters in their group, but they would like to get somebody like Jaydev Unadkat,”
Retained Players List of KKR
Shreyas Iyer, Gurbaj, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Harshit Rana
