Chuck, Marry and Frill | Who KKR should let go and retain ahead of IPL 2021

By now we’re assuming that you’ve interpreted how cataclysmic their season was. They went into the mini auction and emulated Manchester City - spends of 27.5 crore, the highest of any franchise - yet on the field they turned out to be the cricketing version of Queens Park Rangers. They fought everywhere but in the ground, spent the whole season trying to figure out who their ‘real captain’ was and were managed by a man whose notes turned out to be as useful as the last four letters in ‘queue’. 

Pat Cummins (15.5 crore), Sunil Narine (12.5 crore), Chris Green (20 lakh) Nikhil Naik (20 lakh), Harry Gurney (75 lakh), M Siddharth (20 lakh)

Sunil Narine (12.50 crore): It will undoubtedly be a heavy-hearted decision, for Narine has been the face of the franchise for 8 years, but the time has come for KKR to part ways with the West Indian. At 32, Narine is someone on a steep downward spiral, and IPL 2020 pretty much gave it away that he longer is the player he once was. His bowling, in particular, has degraded to the extent that he no longer guarantees even a wicket a match, and the presence of both Varun CV and Kuldeep means that KKR can afford to release the mystery spinner. 12.50 crore is a ludicrous amount of cash to save, and KKR necessarily don’t need to go ‘looking’ for a like-for-like replacement; they can invest and utilize the cash in so many other prudent ways. 

Harry Gurney (75 lakh): A fine utility player to have in the squad, but given KKR’s strength in depth in the pace department, and given his own injury concerns, Harry Gurney is someone who is surplus to the club’s requirements. 

Nikhil Naik (20 lakh) and M Siddharth (20 lakh)

Two more players surplus to the club’s requirements. Naik has looked out of his depth everytime he’s played, while Siddharth, despite being more talented, has no realistic chance of getting a look-in. 

Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna

The core of the side - at no cost should KKR ponder releasing any of these players. Although the franchise under-performed to a large extent in IPL 2020, it is of little doubt that they have one of the strongest cores in the competition. The addition of Morgan strengthened the side, and the emergence of Varun Chakravarthy and Lockie Ferguson coupled with the re-emergence of Mavi and Nagarkoti means that they have a foundation as strong as they come. 

Tom Banton, Sandeep Warrier, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Siddesh Lad

Tom Banton: Another serial under-performer, but there is little reason for KKR to mull releasing Banton. At 1 crore - or even a bit higher, for that matter - they are not bound to get better options, nor will they be able to buy him back for a cheaper price. Worth keeping someone considered ‘generational’, you’d think.

Rinku Singh: He’s not turned out to be the ‘pocket rocket’ he was hyped to be, yet Rinku Singh is someone KKR need to keep. One, they are short on middle-order batting options, and two, there really aren’t too many attractive Indian back-up options in the market. Not of Rinku’s calibre, at least. 

Rahul Tripathi: KKR owe an apology to Tripathi for doing him wrong in every way imaginable, so maybe retaining him would be a nice start. The Maharashtra batsman chipped in with selfless, match-winning contributions all through the season, and he certainly can turn out to be an invaluable entity if used properly, given the plethora of IPL experience he has.

Summary

Total number of players KKR need to retain: 11 (marry) + 5 (frill): 16

Cash saved: 29.35 crore

Remaining purse: 37.85 crore