IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders have won the Indian Premier League trophy twice. In 2012 and 2014, Kolkata performed at its best and reached the top of the tournament. However, since 2014, Kolkata has witnessed a major dip in their overall performance and it turns out that even after making some major changes in the team, things are not ending up in their favour.
During IPL 2022 mega auctions, they bought Shreyas Iyer and made him the leader of the team but things remained the same and Kolkata was unable to reach the knockout stage. They have some of the best players in T20 cricket but even they are unable to turn things around for the team.
During the IPL auctions in 2023, Kolkata bought some new faces in the team, but their primary target was to buy some domestic talent. The top bookmakers in India will surely give some decent odds on KKR lifting the title this time around.
3 players who might turn things around for the franchise
1) N. Jagadeesan
N. Jagadeesan was a steal deal for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The player has played some brilliant cricket in the domestic circuit and his credentials as a wicket-keeper batsman are strong. In November 2022, Narayan Jagadeesan scored 277 off 147 balls for Tamil Nadu against Arunachal Pradesh at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, breaking Ali Brown's record for the highest individual score in List A cricket.
Jagadeesan was also the leading run-scorer in the 2020β21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with 364 runs in eight matches. His presence in Kolkata will definitely change things for the franchise.
2) Litton Das
Another player who made headlines with his exceptional performances in T20 cricket was Bangladeshβs, Litton Das. In 2022 alone, Litton has been part of 19 T20 fixtures and has scored 544 runs at an average of 28.63 while maintaining a strike rate of 140.20.
Litton has suddenly improved his game and has become one of the most impactful batsmen from the Bangladesh camp. There have been occasions where Litton Das has carried his team alone to win matches at the international level.
3) Shakib Al Hasan
The Bangladesh skipper was the costliest buy for the franchise for a price of 1.5 Crore. It should be noted that he was also released from the franchise last year and was unable to find any buyer during the auction. It is because of his brilliant performance in the second half of 2022, Shakib has made it to the team again.
Shakib is an experienced player who has been part of 71 IPL games and has picked up 63 wickets at an economy of 7.44. Kolkata will use him as an all-rounder during IPL 2023.
