Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a successful franchise in IPL. Despite their underwhelming show in the first few seasons, KKR, riding on Gautam Gambhir’s impressive leadership, bagged two trophies and made heads turn towards the City of Joy.
The franchise also enjoys an enormous fan-base across the country. As a brand too, KKR is second to none. However, if there is one aspect that fans of KKR are unhappy with, it could be the team’s frequent personnel changes.
With players leaving and a new set of cricketers arriving every season, it has been difficult for fans to associate well with the franchise. A part of this blame must go towards the management. They have often let go of talented players, who later did well in other franchises. In our opinion, the below seven cricketers must have never been released by KKR.
1. Chris Gayle
Well, we cannot expect a different name to be at the top of the list. In fact, Chris Gayle was probably the first guy who came with the concept of ‘hurting your previous franchise’. The Jamaican monster was part of the KKR set up for the first three seasons, but after that, the franchise chose to discontinue the ties. Considering he was one of the best strikers of the ball then, KKR could have thought differently. Their worst fears came true the next season when Gayle struck a century against KKR in his comeback game.
2. Mohammed Shami
If you see the history of KKR in this tournament, you could notice that the team has hardly had an experienced Indian pacer in their ranks. However, a few risky moves, and right now, Mohammed Shami could have been turning up for his home-franchise. A West Bengal-native, Shami was with KKR for few seasons. The management could not give him sufficient chances and later had to release him as well. As we are aware, Shami went on to do brilliant things at other franchises. At the moment, he is India’s second-best pacer after Jasprit Bumrah.
3. Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav is still an uncapped cricketer, and just a few seasons ago, he was with KKR. Had the team kept hold of him then for a less price, the move could have done wonders for them this season. The Mumbai batsman is in unbelievable form, and he is holding together the batting line-up of MI with his brilliant knocks. Him being in KKR middle-order would have given an edge to the line-up.
4. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson, before his debut with RR, was part of the KKR squad. There was hardly any game-time for him, and KKR parted ways later on. Considering the value he adds to a team now, KKR could have had patience at that time. Nevertheless, it will be too far-fetched to expect that KKR should have expected Sanju’s rise back then.
5. Manish Pandey
Now, there are many reasons why we believe KKR must have retained Manish Pandey a few years ago. In 2018, KKR did not have a single quality Indian capped player, and hence, they chose to retain the foreign guns. At the auction, they bought Dinesh Karthik and made him the captain. However, if Manish Pandey was there, plenty of problems could have been solved. Manish is a good captaincy material, and he could have led the side. Moreover, the Karnataka lad is a brilliant anchor in the middle-order, a necessity which is now a high priority in the KKR batting unit.
6. Anrich Nortje
Anrich Nortje has been in exceptional touch this season. Bowling alongside Kagiso Rabada, Nortje is clocking speeds like never before. Last season, the South African was at KKR. Had the franchise retained him for this season, it would have been a sight to watch Nortje bowl along with Pat Cummins.
7. Trent Boult
KKR seem to go behind at least one premier overseas quick bowler at every auction. In one of the auctions, they had hired the services of Kiwi pacer Trent Boult. However, KKR chose not to retain him for further editions. Trent is a brilliant T20 bowler and is now doing great work at Mumbai. He is also one player whom KKR must have never released.
