IPL 2021 Auction: 3 Players Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to release

Pat Cummins

Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t have a great season in IPL 2020 as they failed to book a playoffs berth due to low NRR. They had 14 points in their bag after the end of the league stage, but their poor NRR cost them the playoff spot. They appeared in some hot and cold form where many of their big names failed to make a mark. Most notably, superman Andre Russell couldn’t show his batting prowess, and the team suffered big time due to it.

Skipper Dinesh Karthik even struggled with the bat and couldn’t show up well, and due to the same reasons, he even stepped down from his captaincy. England skipper Eoin Morgan had to take up the role midway, and that didn’t change much of Kolkata’s fate. Even RCB and SRH booked a playoffs berth with 14 points each in their account, but KKR suffered some big losses and failed to maintain their NRR. Moving up in the next edition, let’s take a look at players KKR might release

3. Kuldeep Yadav

The Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav boasts of a great record in T20Is in recent times, but IPL 2020 was just not his season. Firstly, he didn’t get a chance with the team due to playing combinations but even when he got, he just brought a dismal show on the table. In the five matches played with the Kolkata team, he picked only one wicket at an economy of 7.66. His 2018 and 2017 seasons were much better, and with this line of the record, he might lose his spot with KKR ahead of IPL 2021 auction.

2. Rinku Singh

The Uttar Pradesh batsman Rinku Singh had a forgettable IPL 2020 season with Kolkata as he got to feature in a single match. He has been with Kolkata since the 2018 season and used to get a handful of matches, but this time, he got only one where he could produce just 11 runs. He wasn’t getting any chance with the team due to team combinations, and he was definitely not the preferred pick on various occasions. Keeping in line with the competitive nature of this league, he might be released by KKR ahead of IPL 2021 auction.

1. Pat Cummins

The IPL 2020 auction tables went crazy to get Australian bowler Cummins in their lot. In the end, he was snapped by KKR at a whopping amount of INR 15.5 crore, which made him the costliest overseas player in IPL history. Though he couldn’t shine well in the first few games, he fared well in the games that were lined next as he scalped 12 wickets in 14 games at an economy of 7.86. His massive price tag is not justified as it won’t allow the team to get their hands on other good players in the auction. They might think of selling him and buying again at a reasonable price.