Who Kolkata Knight Riders need to buy at the 2017 IPL auction

How they performed last season

While Andre Russell shined with the ball, picking up 15 wickets in 12 games at a brilliant average of 19.40, the likes of Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel proved to be very expensive. Over the years, Kolkata have depended a lot on their spinners to win them games, and Sunil Narine, who returned after changing his action, was no longer as effective as he had been in the past. Shakib Al Hasan picked up just five wickets in nine innings. Piyush Chawla was perhaps their best spinner last season, but he and Russel had a lot to do among themselves.

Players retained (14): Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Lynn, Umesh Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Sheldon Jackson, Ankit Rajpoot

Auction budget: 19.75 Crores

Out of the nine players released by Kolkata this time, six are foreigners. Two all-rounders, Colin Munro and Jason Holder, who failed to make an impression in the limited chances they received last season, have been shown the door, while three foreign pacers, Morne Morkel, Shaun Tait, and John Hastings, have also exited the franchise. Add to that, the ban on Andre Russell comes as a huge setback for the side.

KKR will mostly eye foreigners in this auction, and one would expect them to sign at least two pacers and two all-rounders. Sean Abbott, Angelo Matthews, and Chris Woakes are three of the best all-rounders who will be available in this auction. However, the fact that South African and English players are expected to leave the IPL early due to national duty might make Woakes a risky purchase.

Abbott, on the other hand, is in red hot form. The 24-year-old was the highest wicket taker, with 20 wickets in 10 innings, in the recently concluded Big Bash League for the Sydney Sixers along with a match-winning knock of 33, off 17 balls, in the match against Melbourne Stars last month. Abbott has previously featured for RCB in 2015, and his base price has been set at just 30 lakhs. However, there are likely to be a lot of suitors for the Australian, and that base price is likely to be blown out of proportion. KKR do have a decent purse though.

Kolkata have historically had world class foreign pacers in their squads. From Shoaib Akhtar to Shane Bond to Brett Lee to Morne Morkel – they have had some fire breathers over the years. This time, they are likely to target one of Trent Boult or Mitchell Johnson. Young South African star Kagiso Rabada and Englishman Tymal Solomon Mills, who recent impressed during England’s tour of India, are enticing options as well, but their unavailability towards the later parts of the tournament is unlikely to do them any favours.

Trent Boult’s base price is set at 150 and the 27-year-old has been in stunning form this year so far. He picked up six wickets in the second ODI against Australia earlier this month and against Bangladesh he managed to grab 12 wickets in the two Test matches. The left-arm pacer will also provide a nice contrast to Umesh Yadav. So will Mitchell Johnson, though but the Australian would be way more costly than the Kiwi pacer.