Ranking 10 worst player releases by KKR in IPL history

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are one of the most consistent teams in IPL history. They have won the title twice. Only the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) have managed to win more titles than them.

KKR have traditionally had a very strategic mantra of investing in players who show a lot of promise. Thus, there have been several instances of a player doing good for the Kolkata-based franchise. However, like every team, even they have made several blunders in the history of the league.

KKR have made the mistake of releasing good players on numerous occasions. This has often backfired as the player either ended up doing good in another franchise or KKR ended up not having a successful season. Today we shall be taking a look at-

10 worst player releases in IPL history by KKR:

10) Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel was one of the best pacers of his time. Any team would die to have the Proteas seamer in their XI. However, despite having a good stint with KKR, they decided to release him ahead of the 2017 IPL auctions.

The Proteas pacer has picked 32 wickets for KKR and played a major role in 2014 when they went on to win the trophy. He was fairly decent in his final season for KKR in 2016 as well. The tall and lanky pacer picked 10 wickets in the 9th edition of the league.

His bowling average and strike rate that season was 29.70 and 21.30 respectively. It’s really sad when one realizes that he was released despite never having an economy rate of more than 8.50 in any season for the Knights. KKR ended up losing to MI in the second qualifier of IPL 2017.

9) Ryan Ten Doeschate

Ten Doeschate is one of the few players from an associate nation to excel in the toughest T20 league in the world. He was an absolute asset for the Knights. As a matter of fact, he had a batting average of 53.50 for KKR in his best season which came in 2011.

In the 29 games Ten has played for KKR, he has scored as many as 326 runs. His batting average and strike rate are 23.29 and 138.732 respectively. He also has a miserly economy rate of 7.23 with the ball in his 10 innings.

Despite having decent numbers, he was never really given a longer run and never played all the games in a season. He was then released ahead of the 2016 IPL auctions and this turned out to be a bad move. KKR ended up having a batting collapse against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2016 Eliminator and who knows what would have happened if the former Dutch skipper was there as he has a knack of playing the rescue act in batting collapses.

8) Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan is one of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball. There aren’t too many Indian players as explosive as him. The Indian all-rounder was an integral part of the Knight Riders.

Despite not being at his best for KKR in his first few seasons for them, he was backed and came good later on. He has won many matches for them all by himself. The hard hitter played as many as 7 seasons for the Knights.

This includes 1893 runs for them as well as 7 fifties. Despite all of this he was released ahead of the 2018 IPL auctions. The Baroda all-rounder then ended up having a good season for SRH in 2018 and played well for them whenever his team needed him.

7) Manish Pandey

The curious case of Manish Pandey and KKR will remain a mystery forever. While several cricket pundits were considering the Karnataka skipper to be the new face of the Knight Riders post the Gambhir era, he wasn’t even brought back by the knights. Releasing him was one decision KKR would end up regretting for a really long time.

Manish Pandey was one of their key players from 2014 to 2017 and use to bat at the crucial number 3 position. He has scored as many as 1270 runs for KKR which includes 6 fifties.

Who could forget his 94 from 50 balls in the all-important IPL 2014 final which propelled KKR to their second title? Not only did KKR not retain him ahead of the IPL 2018 auction but they didn’t even use their RTM card for him in the auction. KKR are still struggling to find a stable Indian batsman who can bat in the middle overs.

6) Umesh Yadav

Contrary to what people believe, Umesh Yadav is actually a pretty viable option when it comes to Indian pacers in the IPL. The extra pace which he provides is something any captain would like to have at his disposal. Despite having a tendency of going for plenty, Yadav was a regular face in the KKR playing XI.

He was even a part of their successful campaign in 2014 and played an instrumental role in winning the title. The Vidarbha pacer has picked 48 wickets for the Knights across 4 seasons. It was then when he was purchased by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2018.

He was absolutely sensational in that season as he went on to pick as many as 20 wickets for the Kohli-led side. He even had a superb economy rate of 7.86 in that season. Thus, it is safe to say that KKR shouldn’t have let him go.

5) Chris Lynn

It is safe to say that Chris Lynn is one of the unluckiest players in IPL history. Despite all his power and brute strength, he has never really been a consistent face in the toughest T20 league. To add to that, he was one of KKR’s key players as well.

It was in 2017 where Lynn unleashed his carnage. Although he did win a match for the Knight Riders with his fielding way back in 2014, it was only in 2017 when he truly lit the IPL with his fireworks. He then went on to represent the Knights in the next two seasons and has scored as many as 1191 runs.

KKR then shockingly decided to release him just before the IPL 2020 auction and went on to regret that move. Even today as we speak, they lack firepower in the top order. The case wouldn’t be the same if KKR hadn’t released the Australia batsman.

4) Brendon McCullum

Does McCullum even need an introduction? One won’t think so. Who could forget his inhuman 158* in the opening match for the Knight Riders in 2008? It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that KKR owes a lot to the Kiwi legend.

Baz has been synonymous with the franchise post his retirement as he is now their coach. However, despite all his contributions as a player, he was released in 2014. CSK then ended up purchasing him during the IPL 2014 auctions.

The former Kiwi captain was then absolutely sensational for the Super Kings. He scored as many as 841 runs in 2 seasons which includes 5 fifties and a hundred. As a matter of fact, he literally carried them to the playoffs all by himself in 2015.

3) Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir is unarguably one of the greatest KKR players of all time. He transformed the franchise from a laughing stock to an absolute champion side. He was their skipper for 7 seasons.

Leaving aside the two titles which the Knights won under his leadership, he also scored 3035 runs and 27 fifties for the franchise. Seldom would you find a player who has contributed so much for one particular franchise. However, despite that, he wasn’t retained ahead of the 2018 IPL auctions.

The move was bizarre, to say the least. However, it was later reported that the former Indian opener himself wanted to leave KKR as he wanted to retire in Delhi. Thus, the move to release Gambhir is ranked third on this list otherwise it would have definitely occupied the first place.

2) Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav is currently one of the best T20 players in India. The Mumbai batsman has now become a regular face in MI’s playing XI no matter what. In fact, he has been one of their best players of late.

However, he was initially with KKR. He represented the Knight Riders from 2014 to 2017. Back then, he was assigned the role of a finisher. Thus, he used to bat down the order.

This move now seems a pretty absurd move as SKY is a perfect number 4 material and loves batting in the middle order. KKR would now regret their decision to release him as he has now become one of the best Indian players in IPL and has been super consistent. The Mumbai batsman has scored 1600 runs in the last 4 seasons ever since he left KKR and started playing for MI.

1) Chris Gayle

This isn’t just one of the worst players released by KKR but is also one of the worst releases by any team in the history of the league. Letting go of a peak Gayle is nothing short of an absolute brain fade. While one can say that Gayle wasn’t at his best for KKR, releasing him back then was still a preety poor move.

The Universe Boss then went on to represent RCB in 2011 and as they say, the rest is history. The Jamaican went on to win the Orange Cap in 2011 and 2012 and came close to winning it again in 2013. A peak Universe Boss was unmatched.

Could you imagine what would have happened if KKR had decided to retain him instead? A lot of things would have changed. The ill-fated decision to release him will be repented by the Knights forever.