Kolkata Knight Riders became champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the third time in their history after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in a one-sided contest at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, May 26. It was one of the greatest IPL campaigns in history wherein KKR won 12 out of 16 matches, losing only three times, while one match ended in a no-result.
The IPL 2024 win for Kolkata Knight Riders was a complete team effort with each of their players stepping up at the different stages of the tournament. In the grand finale, the bowling attack of KKR delivered a flawless performance with each individual picking up a wicket each before batters chased down a 114-run target within 11 overs with eight wickets in hand.
With that, it will be tough for Kolkata Knight Riders to retain only four players before going into the mega auction, slated to happen later this year. In this article, we look at four players KKR might retain ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, who didn’t play the IPL in 2023 due to an injury, returned to lead the side. The 29-year-old marshalled his troops in an exceptional manner in the IPL 2024 season, along with solidifying the middle order of KKR in the batting side of things, scoring 351 runs at an average of 39 and a strike-rate of 146.86 in 14 innings, including two fifties as well.
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Andre Russell
Andre Russell was incredible with the bat, ball, and in the field, right throughout the IPL 2024 for Kolkata Knight Riders, proving his worth as one of the best all-rounders in the competition. Apart from scoring 222 runs in nine innings at an average of 31.71 and a strike-rate of 185, the West Indies cricketer picked up 19 wickets in 14 innings with an economy of 10.05 runs per over.
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Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the Kolkata Knight Riders setup, and he delivered consistent performances right throughout the IPL 2024 season with the ball in hand. The right-arm leg break googly bowler picked up 21 wickets in 14 innings at an economy of just 8.04 for KKR in the tournament, finishing in second place in the Purple Cap race behind Harshal Patel.
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Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine was given an opportunity by the Kolkata Knight Riders management to bat at the top of the order before the IPL 2024 season, and he grabbed it with both hands, to remind everyone about how good his batting skills are. The 36-year-old scored 488 runs in 14 innings at an average of 34.85 and a strike-rate of 180.74, including one hundred and three fifties, while picking up 17 wickets at an astonishing economy of 6.69 in the title winning season for KKR.
