What the franchises would look for in the IPL 2017 Auction

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

The champions from the years 2012 and 2014 had finished fourth on the points table last year and lost in the eliminator match against Gujarat Lions. They always have had a strong side with a good balance in all the departments. Here is what the squad looks like with the top players:

Openers: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk)

Middle Order Batsmen: Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn

All-rounders: Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan

Spinners: Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav

Fast bowlers: Umesh Yadav, Ankit Singh Rajpoot

What’s required

Their star all-rounder from the previous seasons Andre Russell is unavailable this time due to a ban imposed on him. It will be a big void to fill and their first priority would be to find a replacement for him. He manned the duties of a frontline fast bowler for KKR and with Morne Morkel not present in the squad, they need someone good in that area.

Their aim could also be at Ben Stokes who almost looks perfect to fill in for both Russell and Morkel. They have INR 19.75 crores to spend and one can expect them to invest big for someone like Stokes. They still have space for 6 overseas players and so, can go for another foreign all-rounder by spending lesser on him or can bring in an Indian pacer or all-rounder as well.

Their spin section is perhaps the strongest amongst all teams. As such, the squad would be completed with the inclusion of a pacer or a seam bowling all-rounder, they can slot in an opening batsman in case any of Gambhir or Uthappa gets injured. As Uthappa will keep the wicketkeeper, they might plan to take an opener who can keep wickets too like Aditya Tare.