IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Confirmed Retained Squad
Kolkata Knight Riders to retain 15 players as we look at the confirmed retained squad and players list for KKR for IPL 2024.
After winning the championship in 2012 and 2014, the Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t quite lived up to the expectations in the Indian Premier League by finishing 7th in the last two attempts. The team was without their primary captain, Shreyas Iyer, but the Nitish Rana-led side had a below-par outing by winning 6 out of 14 League matches.
But forgetting what has happened in the last couple of years, the Kolkata Knight Riders team needs to start afresh, and the first thing they need to do is finalize the core that they plan to retain ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction. The teams have been given time until November 15 to finalize the retained players, and KKR management is already on to it.
The Kolkata Knight Riders team had a good 22 members on the side for IPL 2023. But the management is unlikely to retain that many players. So, expect the KKR team to cut down on their Workforce by retaining only their core, and removing the less-potent and expensive players from their side.
So, what players will the Chandrakant Pandit-led Kolkata Knight Riders management will think to retain ahead of the upcoming Auction? Well, let’s look at the Confirmed best squad and players list that Kolkata Knight Riders may plan to retain ahead of the IPL 2024 Mini Auction.
IPL 2024: Best Retained Squad List for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Batters – Jason Roy (o), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh & Shreyas Iyer (c)
The KKR team should retain four batters for IPL 2024. This includes Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Captain Shreyas Iyer. KKR would be thrilled to have their primary Captain Shreyas Iyer back in the side. But in the process, the team management should let go of Mandeep Singh, who felt like a less-potent player in the side.
Aside from Shreyas Iyer, the trio of Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, and Rinku Singh did pretty well for KKR in IPL 2023 by scoring 283, 413, and 483 runs respectively. With these three and Shreyas Iyer, it seems, KKR have found a solid batting lineup that should continue for IPL 2024 too.
WKs – Rahmanullah Gurbaz (o)
Coming to the wicket-keepers, KKR should only retain Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and should let go of Narayan Jagadeesan and Litton Das. While Das didn’t participate in IPL 2023, he should not get retained as well. Whereas Jagadeesan did poorly in six games he played for KKR by scoring 89 runs from 6 innings at a strike rate of 110.
Spin All-rounders – Anukul Roy & Sunil Narine (o)
Coming to the spin all-rounders, expect KKR to retain Anukul Roy and Sunil Narine, while letting go of Shakib Al Hasan. Similar to Litton, Shakib backed out from IPL 2023, and the discomfort may prompt KKR to not retain him in IPL 2024. But Anukul Roy impressed with his performance in 2023, so should get another go.
Pace All-rounders – Andre Russell (o) & Venkatesh Iyer
Talking about the Pace All-rounders, KKR should retain their core of Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, while letting go of David Wiese, who wasn’t so impressive last season. With Shreyas Iyer returning, expect Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer to hold to fort towards the backend of the innings in IPL 2024.
Spinners – Suyash Sharma & Varun Chakravarthy
Talking about the spinners, there isn’t much to debate with in-form Suyash Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy being the key spinners for KKR. Both Suyash and Varun had a good outing in IPL 2023 by taking 10 and 20 wickets respectively. So, expect KKR to continue investing in them for IPL 2024.
Pacers – Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav & Vaibhav Arora
Finally, talking about the pacers, it is here where we should see a few changes with KKR management mostly giving up on overseas pacers, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson. While Southee is an easy choice to ouster, Lockie Ferguson’s expensive price tag of 10 Cr may work against him.
With Southee and Lockie gone, expect KKR to retain youngsters Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora alongside experienced Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. Both Harshit and Vaibhav are solid pace options, so should get management’s trust. Meanwhile, Umesh’s form could be a concern, but expect KKR to give him one final chance in IPL 2024.
IPL 2024: Best Retained Squad List for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Batters: Jason Roy (o), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh & Shreyas Iyer (c)
WKs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (o)
All-rounders: Andre Russell (o), Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine (o) & Venkatesh Iyer
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur, Suyash Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Vaibhav Arora & Varun Chakravarthy
Overall, expect KKR to retain a total of 15 players for IPL 2024 including 4 overseas players. If they do so, KKR shall have around 20 Cr in the Auction pool, which they can use to get quite a good number of players in the IPL 2024 Mini Auction.
Thanks for reading! What’s your retained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad and players list for IPL 2024? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com
ALSO READ: IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Best Retained Squad List
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics with over 20 years of experience following Cricket.
Cricket to him is like what Football is to Lionel Messi, Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar, Dancing is to Michael Jackson, and Acting is to Clint Eastwood.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
