IPL 2022 KKR target players – The biggest cricket league in the world, the IPL, will undergo a massive restoration ahead of the next season. The existing eight franchises will enjoy the company of two new additional teams. Apart from the addition of two new teams, mega auction has also been introduced. Before the IPL 2022 auction, the teams were given the deadline of November 30 to submit their list of retentions. All the existing eight franchises of the Indian Premier League have announced their final lists of retained players ahead of the upcoming IPL 2022 mega auctions. The upcoming IPL 2022 Mega Auction is going to be very important for all the ten teams. All the franchises will try to construct their squads almost from the scratch. The team management will adopt different strategies before going into the auction. In this article we will talk about Kolkata Knight Riders and its approach towards the mega auction. It will be interesting to see who they will target now as they will try to built a team under a new captain.
For the Knight Riders, the IPL 2021 eventually became quite unforgettable as the team managed to get to the finale. The franchise after a hiatus of two years finally qualified for the playoffs and ultimately came second only to the title holders Chennai Super Kings. Players like Gill, Sunil Narine and Captain Morgan, who eventually came to their A game, leading the team to be runner-ups of the season.
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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
However, the next IPL cycle now demands a fresh start. KKR certainly has a lot to pick and choose from their current squad. KKR spent 42 Crores in retaining 4 players. The Knight Riders have retained their undoubtedly most promising player Andre Russell (INR 12 Crores), Indian players VarunChakravarty (INR 8 Crores) and Venkatesh Iyer (8 Crores), and veteran all-rounder Sunil Narine (6 Crores). KKR let go of players like their captain Eoin Morgan, opener Shubman Gill, former captain Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins, who was the most expensive overseas player in the past.
IPL 2022 KKR target players
KKR auction strategy 2022 will be somewhat different from the other teams. Since the franchise in recent years had a flawless blend of quality Indian players along with some overseas white-ball veterans, it will be very interesting to see their final retentions and eliminations. Here is the list of players that KKR might target in the upcoming IPL 2022 Mega Auctions.
Ben Stokes
Rajasthan Royals (RR) released England all-rounder Ben Stokes ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. Stokes played only one match for the franchise in the IPL 2021 season before picking up a finger injury while fielding and did not return for the second half in the UAE due to health issues. Although purchasing Stokes will come with its own risks, there is no better all-rounder in world cricket than the England cricketer at present. In the past, KKR have spent huge sums on the likes of fast bowler Pat Cummins. While the Aussie did not do badly, he could not live up to expectations.
Stokes has done well across formats and been consistent with the bat and can bowl death overs. A batting strike rate of 136.84 in T20Is shows that he can bat in any place in the lineup. He has picked 19 wickets in 34 games with an economy of 87.78 that shows that even though he might be a bit expensive he will turn out to be a vital buy at any franchise. His top level image makes him a prime candidate in the list of IPL 2022 KKR target players.
Shardul Thakur
CSK released Thakur and retained captain MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Given what he brings to the table, the Kolkata franchise might be interested to have him by trying to purchase him at the mega auction. The 30-year-old bowling all-rounder is at the peak of his powers. During the tour in England, he showed what he could do with bat and ball under adverse circumstances. When he returned to the UAE for IPL 2021, he was one of CSK’s star performers, claiming massive scalps game after game,including the final. He ended up as one of the top wicket-takers in IPL 2021. Thakur’s variations with the ball come in handy in T20 cricket. Add to that, he will add depth to the batting unit. He also comes in the list of KKR target players 2022.
David Warner
Kolkata Knight Riders having released their skipper Eoin Morgan will be looking for a captain for the next season. Moreover, the franchise also released opener Shubman Gill from the squad and will need a good opener to replace him. David Warner can play both the roles of skipper and opener for the KKR in the next season. Warner is the highest overseas run-getter in the history of the Indian Premier League and holds the record of taking the least number of innings to reach the illustrious mark of 5000 runs in the tournament. Hence, the franchise might target the former Australia skipper in IPL 2022 mega auction. His captaincy ability makes him a potential candidate in the list of KKR target players 2022 mega auction.
Shubman Gill
Gill who was once looked upon as the future captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has been released by the franchise for IPL 2022.KKR might be interested in getting him back in the team at the mega auction. Gill and Venkatesh Iyer complemented each other perfectly during IPL 2021. While Gill had below average performance in first half, he was a transformed player in the second half, opening up impressively. He ended IPL 2021 with 478 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 118.90, which included three fifty-plus scores. KKR must look to reunite Gill-Iyer ahead of IPL 2022.
Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi has been one of the most improved Indian players in the recent past. After having an inconsistent run with RR, he was backed by the Knight Riders and has been a consistent face in KKR’s XI in 2021.
Tripathi loves to accelerate the innings and can bat anywhere in the top-order.The aggressive batter had a memorable IPL season with the bat until he got injured in the final. Tripathi smashed 397 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 140.28. He provided the momentum to Kolkata’s innings in the middle overs more often than not including that nerveless six he hit off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to put KKR in the final. There’s a good chance KKR would try to get him back. His form in the recent seasons makes him a top name in the list of KKR target players 2022.
