The irony of their massive auction was difficult to overlook, and KKR was unable to persuade Shreyas Iyer to stay. After spending it attempting to reassemble their 2024 championship core, they enter the upcoming season without the player who helped them cross the final line.
What has changed with the new cycle for the Kolkata Knight Riders?
It is not only unimaginable, but also nearly irresponsible to lose your captain immediately after winning a title.
The team’s hopes now must undoubtedly rest on the other Iyer, whom they regained at a record cost of INR 23.75 crore, but only time will tell how much of a loss Shreyas will be. But don’t believe it if it seemed like a hint to their captaincy choice for this season. The 36-year-old Ajinkya Rahane, who had just led Mumbai to the local T20 championship while dominating the run charts and hammering the ball at a scorching strike rate of 166, was given the job instead.
In the case of KKR, success wasn’t cheap. In addition to losing their captain, they also lost their coach, Gautam Gambhir, who was primarily responsible for their comeback following consecutive seventh-place finishes. He also didn’t go by himself. He was replaced by Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar, who undermined the foundation of KKR’s think tank. In contrast to Gambhir, whose brief stint was founded on a profound comprehension of the team’s ethos as a former captain and player, that allowed Ottis Gibson to become assistant coach and Dwayne Bravo, an IPL veteran but outsider to KKR, to become mentor.
For KKR, the huge churn might not have happened at a worse moment, but it is what it is. Nevertheless, they still have the strongest spin assault in the competition and a lower middle order that can do really ridiculous things.
Whole Squad
Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya, Spencer Johnson, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (f).
Currently, the best XII
Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (wk), and Ajinkya Rahane (c)
Concerns about availability and injury
Umran Malik, a fast bowler, is out for the season. Chetan Sakariya, who was not sold at the super auction, joined KKR as a net bowler before being added to the team.
Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje is making a comeback from ailments that prevented him from playing in the Champions Trophy and SA20. Even though KKR might view him as their bowling leader in Mitchell Starc’s absence, it’s unclear if he will be available right away.
The player who needs to prove something is…
Venkatesh Iyer .
In addition to being a vice captain, he will be the most costly player in the dugout by more than 10 crores, and the tags will be heavy. It will be interesting to see how Venkatesh handles it under the intense strain of the IPL. Since KKR is the only franchise he is familiar with, he is fortunate to have familiarity on his side.
Despite scoring a century and playing with KKR for four years, Venkatesh is yet to have a breakthrough season. He didn’t place among the season’s top 15 run scorers even after reaching that century in 2023. Additionally, he has even less bowling results as an all-rounder, taking just three wickets in his 2021 rookie season.
However, his role during the Impact Player era may be the most telling statistic. He was substituted out 11 times out of 26 times during the previous two seasons when KKR applied the regulation, which means he played just half the time. That isn’t possible this year. He must fill the large shoes that KKR has set out for him, not someone else’s.
A player with a promising season ahead of them?
Raghuvanshi Angkrish.
You don’t simply walk into your second IPL game, score 54 off of 27, and assist your side in setting the second-highest score in the history of the competition. That, however, is Raghuvanshi for you; his gentle nature off the field contrasts with the strength he can provide at the crease. Even though a middle-order place is up for grabs, he has little to prove at the age of 20 and appears to have the freedom to go all out.
Buildup and run-in of fixtures…
This year’s schedule includes a lot more travels to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport than in 2024, when KKR played five consecutive home games in late April and early May.
They don’t play more than two games in a row at Eden Gardens at any time during the season, even though they begin their campaign at home. This could be a problem when it comes to generating momentum and going for the kill. Notably, KKR will want to avoid leaving things too late this time around because their final two league games will be away games in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
This season’s home ground statistic to keep an eye on
In the IPL at Eden Gardens
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Avg | ER | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narine | 59 | 70 | 19.96 | 6.33 | 18.9 |
| Varun | 15 | 21 | 24.29 | 9.00 | 16.2 |
Even if the Impact Player rule and increasing run-rates have made things more difficult at the Eden Gardens, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine have managed to do what few spinners can: hold their own.
The pitch flattening out has made the ground less forgiving, which was formerly a sanctuary for slow-low spin in KKR’s purple and gold. One example of how tough it can be is Suyash Sharma, who only lasted a few seasons. However, KKR has two spinners, Narine and Chakaravarthy, who have overcome the odds on a very small field.
India
