The IPL Auction is just a couple of hours as we discuss KKR’s core strategy going into the auction today. As we witnessed during the 2020 season, the inconsistency of the top order led to poor starts in the powerplay. KKR tried as many as three opening pairs during the season with Shubman Gill being the one constant in all three pairs.

First up Sunil Narine was trusted as Shubman Gill’s partner at the top but Narine’s weakness against the short ball being exposed upfront at the start led to Narine copping up low scores. Post which KKR went ahead of Rahul Tripathi as Gill’s partner after batting down the order at 8. As an opener, Tripathi fared well after scoring his second-highest score in the history of the IPL, his highest score of 93 came during the 2017 season when the Rising Pune Super Giants were into existence.

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KKR Could Target England’s Dawid Malan For The Opener’s Slot

Followed by which Nitish Rana was promoted as an opener despite Rahul Tripathi doing a decent job at the top. Nitish Rana who wasn’t having the greatest of seasons, rose up to the occasion when he was promoted as an opener as he went on to score his highest score in the history of the IPL as he notched up a 61 ball 87 run knock against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

In the 2021 IPL auction, KKR should look to find a batting partner for Shubman Gill at the top, preferably in the form of Dawid Malan who is the number T20 batsman in the ICC T20 rankings. Malan could be a fine addition given that his attacking nature could benefit Shubman Gill’s gameplay of starting off slow and then later accelerating as the innings progresses.

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KKR Retentions and Released Players

Released: M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Siddhesh Lad, Chris Green, Tom Banton

Squad: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Ali Khan, Tim Seifert

Purse Remaining: INR 10.85 cr.

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