The Kolkata Knight Riders were amongst the most active franchises during the auction for IPL 2020. The Knight Riders invested in 9 players, which includes the big-money signings of Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Varun Chakravarthy.
Additions during the auction:
Australian pacer Pat Cummins was acquired for a record fee of Rs 15.5 crore. That is the highest ever sum for an overseas cricketer. England skipper Eoin Morgan joined his former club for a sum of Rs 5.25 crore, after a fierce bidding war with the Delhi Capitals.
Uncapped mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was surprisingly signed for a sum of Rs 4 crore. The decision was an interesting one, after the spinner was part of only one league clash last season.
The other overeas signings by the Knight Riders are English batsman Tom Banton and Australian all-rounder Chris Green. The franchise further signed domestic performers like Rahul Tripathi, Nikhil Naik, Pravin Tambe, M Siddharth.
The acquisition of Cummins is certainly a step in the right direction, considering their struggle in the pace department. The Australian pacer will bring a lot of experience and stability to the bowling attack, alongside the likes of Harry Gurney and Lockie Ferguson.
Tambe and Siddharth will be quality replacements for spinner Piyush Chawla. Tripathi, Naik and Morgan are sublime additions, considering the reliance on Nitish Rana and departure of Robin Uthappa.
Banton will be the surprise package, in the absence of Chris Lynn and provide reliability at the top of the order.
After an amazing day at the #IPLAuction, here’s our 23-man squad for #IPL2020!
Hit RT to spread the word! #KorboLorboJeetbo pic.twitter.com/Jlsn2r79HG
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) December 19, 2019
Different combinations for the Knight Riders:
Considering the Knight Riders squad for IPL 2020, here are the different lineups which the franchise can look to field over the course of the upcoming season:
Tom Banton, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav.
Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
