Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a lot of purchases in the IPL 2024 auction. They bought as many as 10 players for the team, of which 4 were foreign players. KKR broke the bank for Australian pacer Mitchell Starc and acquired him for a whopping INR 24.75 crore.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had an available salary cap of Rs. 32.70 crores before the IPL 2024 auction. After Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR had the maximum funds with them. They had openings for 12 players on their roster, more than any other team. Of 12 players, they could choose 4 foreign players.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, KKR retained 13 players in their squad. To retain them, KKR spent Rs. 67.30 crores. KKR retained 4 foreign players in their team – Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine. KKR retained some great domestic players like Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Varun Chakaravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer.
The two-time IPL winners released 12 players from their squad ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, the most of any team. Some of the domestic players that KKR released were Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. KKR also released foreign players like David Wiese, Litton Das, Lockie Ferguson, Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee.
Shreyas Iyer missed last season due to injury. Nitish Rana led the team in his absence. However, Iyer will return in the next edition and will lead the team. Therefore, KKR will have their powerful captain back in the team. Also, KKR has a new mentor in Gautam Gambhir.
Last season KKR failed to make the playoffs. Under captain Nitish Rana, KKR played 14 matches, winning 6 and losing 8. They secured 7th place in the points table and failed to make it to the playoffs.
However, KKR has been a dominant team in the Indian Premier League. They won the trophy twice in IPL 2012 and IPL 2014. They also finished runners-up in the 2021 season. However, for the last two seasons they failed to reach the playoffs.
IPL 2024 auction: Full list of players bought by KKR
PlayerNationalityTypePriceMitchell StarcOverseas Bowler ₹ 24,75,00,000 Mujeeb Rahman Overseas Bowler ₹ 2,00,00,000 Sherfane Rutherford Overseas Batsman ₹ 1,50,00,000 Gus Atkinson Overseas Bowler ₹ 1,00,00,000 Manish Pandey Indian Bat ador ₹ 50,00,0 00KS BharatIndianWicket-Keeper ₹ 50,00,000 Chetan SakariyaIndianBowler ₹ 50,00,000Angkrish RaghuvanshiIndianBasser ₹ 20,00,000Ramandeep SinghIndianAll-rounder ₹ 20,00,000Sakib HussainIndianBowler ₹ 20,00, 000