IPL 2020: Areas of improvement for all 8 franchises

7. Kolkata Knight Riders:

Squad- Dinesh Kartik(c), Tom Banton, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Chris Green, Kuldeep Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Eoin Morgan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Nikhil Naik, Sunil Narine, Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Rana, Andre Russel, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Manimaran Siddharth, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy

KKR lack quality Indian pacers. Apart from Cummins, who’s also a Test bowler primarily, the pace unit is very raw. Lockie Ferguson might prove to be effective but the Indian core is highly inexperienced. Among Warrier, Mavi, Nagarkotti and Krishna, none of them has international experience. Krishna is the most experienced of the lot, having played only 13 IPL games.

Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t been in the best of form over the past year, so that might hurt the spin-attack. He would have to up the ante to complement Sunil Narine. They would be required to perform consistently, considering the tracks on offer in the Emirates.

KKR may also have a problem of plenty while deciding their foreign players. It might end up being a choice between explosive Tom Banton, who has lit up T20 leagues across the globe, and the WC winning captain Eoin Morgan. Both of them add value to the table in their ways and skillsets, and this shall be a genuine dilemma for them to have in the IPL.