KKR Team 2023; Updated Players List, Name, Captain, Photo

KKR Team 2023: The only team other than Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings that has won more than one title in the Indian Premier League is Kolkata Knight Riders. The team is owned by Red Chillies Entertainment which is an enterprise of one of the most loved Hindi Cinema Actors, Shahrukh Khan. The team of KKR gets all the love showered for him, former captain Saurav Ganguly, and their skipper who led them to two titles, Gautam Gambhir.

The reputation that the team has built over the years is of an above-average performer who has good and bad days but still manages to excel. The last season in 2022 was a bad one for KKR and its fans. Not only they failed to qualify, but also, they ended up being placed in the 7th position of the points table.

On 15 November 2022, they were required to announce the retentions and releases ahead of the Mini Auction 2023 that will be held on 23 December 2022 in Kochi. The following article contains the list of players, retentions, releases, trades, and much more information regarding KKR Team 2023. Read thoroughly and find all you need to know about the squad of Kolkata.

KKR Team 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders have been one of the strongest teams in a large part of the Indian Premier League. They have been home to many legends such as Saurav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Brendon McCullum, Brett Lee, and so on. There have been many minds that have tried to provide the best direction to the team and it was under the stellar and stable captaincy of Gambhir that KKR won 2 titles in alternative years, 2012 and 2014. They had a good run in the decade before 2021. However, after the mega auction in 2022, KKR saw a very disappointing season.

Under a new and young captain such as Shreyas Iyer, a new team takes up time to build itself. Now, for the upcoming season, the KKR management is trying to fix things right. They have sacked Brendon McCullum from coaching and appointed Chandrakant Pandit in place. They have made major shuffles in their teams while keeping their faith in the young skipper. It will be quite interesting to see how KKR proceeds from here while trying to get back on their track.

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KKR Team 2023: Highlights

Kolkata IPL 2023 Retained and Released Players

KKR has retained their core with Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Naraine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, and a few more. They have traded in Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to make their limited squad stronger. It was very astonishing how KKR released nearly a dozen of players including Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Nabi, Anjikye Rahane, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson, and Aron Finch. With so many legendary releases, Kolkata has relieved itself from the pressures of benching many capable players throughout the season. It is evident that they seek to create a limited team with maximum strength.

KKR’s requirements ahead of the Mini Auction 2023

The team of Kolkata has opted for a different strategy for the auction. They have let go of all the players that could not add to the permutations that the management and Iyer are hoping for. They have invested in bigger names and experienced decreasing room in their purse. The management will be sitting on the auction table with just Rs. 7.05 crore. It will be to their benefit if they pick up younger batting options who they can try out during the tournament. An Indian spinning option will also be a good choice for the team Kolkata. The team seems very limited and sustained. It will be interesting to see if KKR tries to flood their squad or if they are satisfied with the changes made.

Kolkata Knight Riders Players for IPL 16th Edition

The Team of Kolkata looks like this ahead of the Mini Auction for IPL 2023:

IPL Retention List 2023

Captain of Kolkata Knight Riders KKR, Shreyas Iyer

Iyer started his IPL career in the team of Delhi where they picked him up for a whopping 2.6 crores in his debut season. He was also crowned with the Emerging Players award in the same season, IPL 2015. In 2018, Delhi continued with Iyer, further retaining him and announcing him as the captain in place of Gautam Gambhir. Iyer had to part ways with Delhi Capitals in 2022 due to captaincy issues as the DC was sure to continue with Rishabh Pant as the captain. In the mega auctions, the team of Kolkata Knight Riders picked up Shreyas Iyer for Rs. 12.25 crores and announced him as the captain. Iyer is an international T20 and ODI player and has won many matches for his team in the Indian Premier League. Not only is he young and talented but he is also highly stable.

In the last season, he scored 401 runs while leading the Knight Readers. The season was not a successful one for his team but there were consistent efforts from the Skipper. It will be interesting to look forward to Iyer trying to gain back the momentum he once developed while captaining his Delhi Team. KKR highly depends on him and his leadership abilities will face a very lucid challenge as both, the team management and fans expect the squad to strive under his young aggression.

Kolkata IPL Team Predictions and Analysis for 2023

KKR has let go of a majority of players and spent a great deal of amount on trades. They have focused on bringing in quality players than overcrowding their squad and creating multiple options. This does not seem like a very bad strategy. Kolkata has strong batters like Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Naraine, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. With power-hitting players like Andre Russell and Tim Southee, the finishing that is required for T20 Cricket also seems to have found a particular direction.

Kolkata has a decent spin bowling attack prominently led by Sunil Naraine and Varun Chakravarthy. Additionally, with Lockie Ferguson adding his speed and Shardul Thakur’s special Nuckle balls it seems that the Fast Bowling Department which entirely was dependent on Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell has gained a lethal form. They have strong batters, bowlers, fielders, all-rounders, and a capable captain. The only thing they miss is the availability of similarly strong options!

KKR Team 2023 Social Media Handles