IPL 2020 Auction | KKR treading on thin ice by not buying able back-up players, feels Gautam Gambhir

12/21/2019

Gautam Gambhir has criticized Kolkata Knight Riders for not buying able back-ups for the likes of Morgan and Russell and feels that the team might be in trouble should one of the two get injured. Gambhir also lauded the selection of Pat Cummins, but feels that the franchise overpaid for the pacer.

Brendon McCullum & Co. looked like a team on a mission from the word go in the recently-concluded player auction for the 2020 edition of the IPL, snapping up both Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan for whopping prices within the first 30-minutes of the auction. They followed it up by geting England’s Tom Banton and Australia’s Chris Green, but did not, however, sign any back-up players for the likes of both Morgan and Andre Russell.

The lack of able back-up might mean that both Morgan and Russell might have to play the entirety of the season, and former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir was heavily critical of his former franchise for not buying back-up players for their overseas stars and believes that the team will be in a really precarious situation should one of the big guns get injured.

“If you look at the squad as a whole, there is no backup for Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine who is a one of a kind bowler. If Eoin Morgan suffers an injury, the team has no middle order overseas batsman,” Gambhir said while speaking at Star Sports' Cricket Live show, reported News18.

The 38-year-old believes that the franchise could have gone for one of Marcus Stoinis or Mitchell Marsh, who have the ability to both play as specialist batsmen and finish off matches.

"The management could have gone for a Mitchell Marsh or Marcus Stoinis who would have given more depth to the squad, so you have to hope all these players are there for the entire series," Gambhir said.

"If Pat Cummins suffers an injury, there is a replacement with Lockie Fergusan but with the top order there is no replacement for Kolkata Knight Riders," he explained.

The former Indian opener seemed content with the signing of the Aussie pace stalwart Cummins, but still sounded skeptical about the 26-year-old’s death-bowling abilities. With KKR having paid a staggering 15.50 crore - an IPL record for overseas cricketers - for the tearaway quick, Gambhir hopes that the pacer could ‘single-handedly win 3 or 4 matches’ and justify his price tag.

“The positive part about Pat Cummins is that you can expect him to take wickets with the new ball because he has a good swing and he bowls at good pace, he might be a concern for the death overs but he has good bowling skills and he has been with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and has improved a lot since then.

"I hope he plays all the matches and makes the team win 3-4 matches single-handedly because he has been bought for such a high amount.”