IPL 2022: SWOT Analysis of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Kolkata Knight Riders were one of the teams that made some very smart and interesting buys at the IPL 2022 mega auction earlier this month. Having bid adieu to some of their experienced players Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, etc. KKR welcomed the likes of the dynamic batter Shreyas Iyer for a sum of INR 12.25 crore, senior Test batter Ajinkya Rahane (INR 1 crore), England white-ball specialist Sam Billings (INR 2 crore), one of the most promising domestic talents Sheldon Jackson (INR 60 lakh) to name a few.

At the same time, Kolkata were impressive on the first day of the two-day event in Bengaluru by ensuring that they had their bases covered. They also bought back some of their older players including Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins for INR 7.25 crore, middle-order batter Nitish Rana (INR 8 crore), and young pacer Shivam Mavi (INR 7.25 crore) respectively to lay a solid foundation as the franchise looks to take its legacy forward.

Here’s the entire Kolkata Knight Riders squad:

Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Nabi, Aman Khan

The SWOT analysis of Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2022:

Strengths- New and innovative captain Shreyas Iyer

Just days after the conclusion of the IPL 2022 mega auction, the Kolkata Knight Riders decided to name Shreyas Iyer as their new captain. He will be taking over the reins from Eoin Morgan. Morgan, who was made skipper in the second half of IPL 2020, had led KKR to the finals last season but his returns with the bat were underwhelming and that’s why he was released by the franchise and found no takers this time around.

Iyer has a tremendous amount of IPL captaincy experience under his belt, having led the Delhi Capitals to their first playoffs in 2019 after the 2012 season and a maiden final in 2020 where they lost to a strong Mumbai Indians. Iyer parted ways with DC after they had made it clear that Rishabh Pant was their first-choice captain for IPL 2022.

Heading into the mega auction, KKR wanted to sort out their captaincy woes permanently and they have done that with the appointment of Shreyas Iyer. It now remains to be seen whether Iyer’s leadership experience will take the franchise to unattained heights starting this season.

Weaknesses- Lack of an experienced full-time wicketkeeper

Having released Dinesh Karthik, the Kolkata Knight Riders did not have a backup wicketkeeper, but after the conclusion of the IPL 2022 mega auction, they have two of them. One is Sheldon Jackson with the other being Sam Billings. Unfortunately, neither of them could be called a first-choice keeper.

Jackson, who represents Saurashtra in domestic cricket, is still an uncapped player. Billings, on the other hand, is a makeshift wicketkeeper and with Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler in the England team, he has not got an opportunity to shine donning the gloves.

Therefore, a lack of an experienced first-choice stumper could hurt the Kolkata-based franchise in the 2022 edition with no other strong options available.

Opportunities- Alex Hales can provide brisk starts as an opener

Alex Hales is in the prime of his life as far as T20 cricket is concerned. He was expected to attract huge bids at the IPL 2022 auction, but no team showed faith in him. Kolkata Knight Riders managed a steal deal by buying him for his base price of INR 1.5 crore and on paper, they have indeed made a wise investment.

The explosive English opener would be expected to take the attack on the opposition bowlers right from the word ‘go’ by working in tandem with another destructive opening batter Venkatesh Iyer. Hales and Iyer together can ensure brisk starts for Kolkata, be it while setting targets or chasing them down.

Adding Hales in their squad, KKR would be confident that they have a stable opening duo with skipper Shreyas Iyer to come in at number three, and by the looks of it, they have one of the best top-orders in this season.

Threats-  Injury concerns for key players

While the two-time winners have a balanced squad for IPL 2022, the injury concerns for some of their key players could leave them in a spot of bother as they lack the necessary replacements. Those include the Caribbean power-hitter Andre Russell and the mystery spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. All these star players have injury issues.

A major injury for Russell could add pressure on the middle-order, especially in the middle and death overs. However, if Narine and Chakravarthy suffer injuries at the same time, then it would adversely affect the entire spin department throughout the tournament, which could even halt their progress this time.

The former champions would be hoping that the three of their key players remain fit and available throughout the season as they eye a third IPL crown after failing at the final hurdle last time.