Published 19:16 IST, February 19th 2021
Gautam Gambhir points out KKR squad's drawbacks ahead of IPL 2021
Former skipper Gautam Gambhir has pointed out the drawbacks of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad ahead of the upcoming IPL 2021
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Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has pointed out the drawbacks of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad ahead of IPL 2021. Even though the two-time winners have added a mix of youth and experience in their arsenal for the upcoming season, Gauti who happens to be the former captain of the Kolkata franchise is just not convinced as the team hopes to end its seven-year title drought.
'Had they probably...': Gautam Gambhir
"Indian batting is a huge problem for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Apart from Shubman Gill and to a certain extent Nitish Rana, I don't see so much of quality. Dinesh Karthik bats too low in the batting lineup, he has had a horrible season last time around. That is the reason they will be very much dependent on Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell. Andre Russell needs to fire if they need to be competitive. They need to win the tournament, it's been 6-7 years since they haven't won the tournament. You can look very good on paper but they haven't been that consistent," said Gambhir while reviewing the IPL 2021 Auction on Star Sports.
"Had they probably had a little better Indian batting lineup, probably someone like a Kedar Jadhav, yes they went for someone like an experienced Karun Nair. But Kedar Jadhav could have given them that little bit of firepower in the middle order. They have got Rahul Tripathi and Karun Nair but Karun Nair is probably more suited to bat at the top of the order. So from that point of view, I feel a little bit of chink in the armor," Gambhir who had led KKR to two title wins in the 2012 & 2014 editions added.
KKR in IPL 2021 Auctions
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were among the franchises with the lightest purse as they only had ₹10.75 crores going into the IPL 2021 auction. With as many as eight slots to fill, the KKR team management had to play their cards wisely.
Among the players that KKR bought, the name that stood out the most was that of veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh. The off-spinner who went unsold during the first set of the IPL auction was bought by the former champions when his name popped up for grabs for the second time. Bhajji's IPL 2021 base price was INR 2 crores and Kolkata Knight Riders acquired the services of the 2011 World Cup winner at the same price as they were the only side to bid for him.
Apart from Harbhajan Singh, KKR roped in Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for INR 3.2 crores. Other players who were bought by KKR at IPL auction are Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting (INR 75 lakhs), the second Indian batsman to score a triple-century in Test cricket, Karun Nair (INR 50 lakhs), all-rounder Pawan Negi (INR 50 lakhs), Puducherry wicket-keeper batsman Sheldon Jackson (INR 20 lakhs), Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, and, Himachal Pradesh pacer Vaibhav Arora (both INR 20 lakhs each).
19:16 IST, February 19th 2021