IPL 2020: 3 players who can replace Chris Green at Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders’ new recruit Chris Green has been banned from bowling for three months after being reported for an illegal action. The off-spinner was bought by Dinesh Karthik’s men at his base price of INR 20 lakhs during the 2020 IPL auction held in Kolkata.

The Aussie’s participation in this year’s IPL would be subject to the approval of the IPL governing council. This doesn’t augur well for Kolkata Knight Riders who must find a replacement for Chris Green going into the 2020 IPL. According to IPL replacement rules, an injured/suspended player can be replaced only by a player whose base price is the same or less than the price the injured/suspended player was bought for at the auction.

With Green being bought at his base price of INR 20 lakhs and there are no better overseas options available at that price, KKR might be forced to sign an Indian player as a replacement. The overseas combination looks settled with the addition of stars like Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, and Pat Cummins.

With plenty of spin bowling options to choose from (Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Pravin Tambe) it is highly unlikely that KKRwould bring in a spinner as a replacement for Green who himself was touted to be a backup.

Having released a solid middle-order batsman like Robin Uthappa and with Nitish Rana under the scanner for age fudging, they might go for a proven Indian batsman with INR 20 lakh base price who could provide stability in the middle-order complementing Dinesh Karthik and young Shubman Gill thereby avoiding over-reliance on overseas players for runs.

On that note, let us look at three Indian players KKR might bring in as a replacement to Chris Green.

3) Milind Kumar

Milind shot into the limelight courtesy his exploits with the willow during the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season where he emerged as the highest run-getter with whopping 1331 runs for Sikkim with his highest score being 261. The 28-year-old was unstoppable amassing four half-centuries and six centuries in just eight matches last Ranji season.

Despite being a part of two IPL franchises so far- Delhi Daredevils (2014) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (2019), Milind is yet to make his debut in the cash-rich league. The current Tripura skipper drew the attention of defending champion Mumbai Indians and was called for the trails ahead of 2020 IPL auction after being released by Royal Challengers Bangalore who bought him for INR 20 lakhs last year.

Milind continued his impressive run at 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy scoring 390 runs thereby emerging as Tripura’s highest run-getter in the tournament. Having proved his credentials across formats, this dependable batsman might be a valuable addition to KKR’s middle order.

2) Arun Karthik

The wicketkeeper-batsman who is currently playing for Puducherry in the domestic circuit has represented Tamil Nadu for six seasons (2008-2013) before moving to Assam in 2014. The former Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore player was a part of the CSK squad that won the title in season three back in 2010 before moving to RCB in the following season.

After his three-year stint at RCB (2011-2013), he sadly hasn’t got a chance to prove himself in the IPL. A household name in Tamil Nadu Premier League, Arun Karthik who found no buyers at 2020 IPL auction with an INR 20 lakh base price has been sensational with the bat for the Madurai franchise (earlier Madurai Supergiant, now Siechem Madurai Panthers) in the past three seasons.

The 33-year-old emerged as the tournament’s highest run-getter during his side’s victorious 2018 TNPL campaign amassing 472 runs in ten innings at an astonishing strike-rate of 153.75. He continued his impressive run in 2019 TNPL as well scoring 356 runs in nine innings thereby finishing as the third-highest run-getter overall.

He has been consistent with the bat in the domestic tournaments and we might expect the immensely experienced batsman to replicate his TNPL form into the IPL as well. With Dinesh Karthik, his former Tamil Nadu colleague at the helm Arun Karthik might find it easy to get going at Kolkata Knight Riders.

1) Baba Aparajith

It was surprising to see a player like Aparajith going unsold once again at the IPL auction with a base price of just INR 20 lakhs. A consistent performer in the domestic circuit, Aparajith has been one of the vital cogs in Tamil Nadu’s line-up over the past several seasons. Having amassed 598 runs that include six half-centuries and a century during 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy where Tamil Nadu emerged as runners-up having lost to Karnataka in the final, he emerged as the fourth-highest run-getter overall.

The 25-year-old who smashed the first-ever century in Tamil Nadu Premier League history back in 2016 has been a part of Chennai Super Kings and the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL. Unfortunately, he didn’t get an opportunity to don the jersey during those two stints and his yet to play an IPL game in his career.

A handy off-spinner, Aparajith might be a valuable T20 commodity given his all-round credentials. On many occasions, the 2012 Under-19 World Cup winner has provided stability to the Tamil Nadu middle-order scoring runs at crucial junctures. The Chennai lad who has proved himself across formats might relish the prospect of playing under Dinesh Karthik if he gets his much-deserved IPL opportunity as a replacement to Chris Green at Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2020.

With age, maturity and talent on his side, there can’t be a better replacement than Aparajith at this price range.