IPL 2023 Auction: Kolkata Knight Riders would be looking for three players, says Robin Uthappa

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction is scheduled to take place on December 23, Friday in Kochi. All eyes are on the teams as they have begun ideating plans in order to bolster the squad ahead of the new season.

One of the franchises in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will need to rebuild and regroup, however, the side is left with a purse of Rs. 7.05 Cr. The small kitty makes things difficult for the side in the auction to bring in big names but will need to spend their purse wisely.

Former Kolkata Knight Riders batter Robin Uthappa has opined that the franchise will look for three players ahead of the auction in order to secure their services.

“KKR would be looking for three players in this auction – one would be an Indian backup wicketkeeper for Gurbaz. In case, they want flexibility in playing both Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, Gurbaz is the one who would have to sit out as they are not going to drop Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Second player is a backup to Andre Russell,” said Uthappa in a release ahead of the auction.

KKR is one such team that travels the most: Robin Uthappa

Furthermore, Uthappa also added that the side requires the services of backup players due to the travel playing a vital role. He added that Kolkata is one franchise that travels the ‘most’ as compared with the other teams.

“IPL is going back to its original format. So, it is not going to be just one or two venues. There will be a lot of travel. KKR is one such team that travels the most. Kolkata is really far away and they travel atleast 2-3 thousand kms more than all other teams,” he told.

“So, keeping those things in mind, you will have to have a backup just in case, Russell pulls up or he has not recovered due to back-to-back matches. Third would be an Indian fast bowler who would be a backup to Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. They have a couple of youngsters in their group, but they would like to get somebody like Jaydev Unadkat,” added Uthappa.