IPL 2022: 3 Players KKR could have picked instead of Pat Cummins

On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have the most incompetent team in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). A significant part of that is because they spent INR 27.5 crores mostly on a combination of Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Pat Cummins early in the auction. While the Iyer selection makes sense given their need for a middle-order batter and skipper, adding Rana to the mix hampered their ability to bid for better value-for-money players.

The team’s demise came after a promising start under new captain Shreyas Iyer, who led them to three wins in their first four games, including a six-wicket victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who had outclassed them in last year’s final. And since the league season is halfway through, the Knight Riders must get their game together if they want to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.

When it comes to their recent results, the bowling department is being scrutinized, with a specific focus on Pat Cummins. The Australian has been gone for plenty with the ball in recent games, while being superb with the bat against Mumbai Indians (MI), causing the world to sit up and take note of his T20 finishing prowess with a 15-ball 56 not out. In two of the past three games, he conceded more than 50 runs, with the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) scoring 215 and 217 runs respectively. On that note, we take a look at 3 players Kolkata could have picked instead of Cummins.

3 players KKR could have picked instead of Pat Cummins

1. Mohammed Shami

Shami, one of India’s top pace bowlers, was purchased by Gujarat Titans for INR 6.25 crore during the IPL 2022 mega auction. Mohammed Shami’s limited-overs career was rejuvenated in recent months with some exceptional results in India colours after he was scooped up by Punjab Kings for a whopping INR 4.8 crore during the 2019 player auction.

He possesses the ability to be productive at the start of an innings as well as in the dying overs. Shami has made tremendous development and is now a complete bowler. He had a fantastic season in 2019, finishing with 19 wickets from 14 games as Punjab’s leading wicket-taker. In the 2020 season, he improved his bowling, even more, defending six runs in a super-over with his exceptional consistency and striking early with the new ball for PBKS throughout the 13th edition.

Kolkata Knight Riders did bid for Shami till a certain point in the IPL mega Auction 2022, but Gujarat Titans bagged the deal. Had Kolkata persuaded a bit more and roped in the Bengal pacer, their team would have looked more potent with a strike bowler at their disposal.