Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL 2023: Full Retained Players list for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Shreyas Iyer to lead as we look at the retained players best playing 11 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for IPL 2023. 

When the IPL 2023 retention list was announced, Kolkata Knight Riders’ retentions looked the most surprising among all teams. The team retained the second-least number of players, and have the worst purse available going into the Auction. 

Overall, KKR retained a total of 14 players including 3 trade-in players and they let go of 15 players. They retained 3 batters, 1 wicket-keeper, 4 all-rounders, 5 pacers, and 1 spinner.  Their retention strategy was more focused on retaining a good first-choice playing 11, but with hardly any backups available in case of injuries to their good players.

What baffles the most is that they cannot utilize the unaccounted INR 8 crores from their budget. Last year, when KKR retained 4 players, they gave a salary of INR 34 crores to their retained players, but as per BCCI’s rules, INR 42 crores was deducted. 

Unfortunately, KKR now have only INR 7.05 crores available with them going into the Auction, and they have space for 11 players available including 3 overseas players. Having spent INR 79.95 on 14 players, their Salary/player is the highest among all teams at INR 5.71 crores.

So, here’s the list of the full retained squad and players for KKR for IPL 2023.

IPL 2023 – KKR Retained Players Details:  

Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (o), Andre Russell (o), Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine (o), Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Lockie Ferguson (o), Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee (o), Umesh Yadav & Varun Chakravarthy

Total Players Retained: 14 // Purse Remaining: INR 7.05 Crores

Analyzing the squad, Kolkata Knight Riders somehow managed to retain a good first-choice playing 11. But what this also means is that if something happens to their first-choice players, they won’t have good backups to fill those gaps.

The team still has plenty of gaps to fill. They need 1-2 good overseas players, 1-2 strong Indian wicket-keepers, a backup spinner to Varun Chakravarthy, and a couple of decent Indian batters. Unfortunately, for them to buy 6-7 more players, they only have INR 7.05 crores in their kitty.  

IPL 2023 – KKR Released Players Details: 

Talking about the released players for Kolkata Knight Riders, they released a total of 15 players including 6 overseas players. This shows they had the least trust in their 2022 purchases, and all their Auction strategy went for a toss. In addition, KKR released some known Indian players like Shivam Mavi, Ajinkya Rahane, Sheldon Jackson, etc. 

So, here’s the official released players list for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for IPL 2023.

IPL 2023: Official Released Players List for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Aaron Finch (o), Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Alex Hales (o), Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne (o), Mohammad  Nabi (o), Pat Cummins (o),  Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Dar, Sam Billings (o), Sheldon Jackson & Shivam Mavi

IPL 2023 – KKR Best Playing 11 from Retained Players:

Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav & Varun Chakravarthy

Talking about the first-choice playing 11 for KKR from the list of retained players, they have Venkatesh Iyer and Rahmanullah Gurbaz as their openers; although there is a high possibility, KKR might find Gurbaz’s replacement. The middle-order seems sorted with Rana, Shreyas Iyer, and Rinku Singh in the ranks. 

Coming to the finishers, KKR have the beast in the form of Andre Russell – although Russell is struggling for form, and is always injury prone. The number 7 and number 8 are good options with Narine and Shardul giving good batting depth. The rest of the bowling looks good with Lockie, Umesh, and Chakravarthy filling those spots. 

Thanks for reading! What’s your take on Kolkata Knight Riders player retention list for IPL 2023? Please email your thoughts to cric8fanatic@gmail.com


ALSO READ: IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans Full Retained and Released Players List


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Adesh Kothari

Adesh is an author at Cric8fanatic with over 20 years of experience following Cricket. Cricket to him is like what 'Football is to Lionel Messi', 'Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar', 'Dancing is to Michael Jackson', and what 'Acting is to Clint Eastwood'. Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.

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