'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In a disappointing 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finished four points off the final playoff place, with only six wins in 14 matches.
The two-time IPL champions opted to spend a good chunk of their purse at the IPL 2024 auction on an all-phase overseas fast bowler, with Mitchell Starc becoming the most expensive player in the history of the event. They also filled the rest of their roster spots with domestic talent and overseas backups.
However, despite the acquisitions, the Knight Riders haven't been able to tick off all the boxes they needed to. There are a few areas that need addressing ahead of the season, which will be of great importance to the franchise.
KKR's squad for IPL 2024: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Phil Salt, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain.
Here are three pressing concerns for KKR ahead of IPL 2024.
#3 KKR are rather thin in the pace department
Despite Starc's signing, KKR still look thin in the pace department. The Aussie fast bowler is arguably well past his prime and might not offer the all-phase value Kolkata expect from him.
Dushmantha Chameera has replaced Gus Atkinson to support Starc in the overseas department, but the Sri Lankan is hardly a reliable T20 bowler, at least for the IPL standard.
Meanwhile, among Indians, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, and Sakib Hussain are the frontline pacers, with Ramandeep Singh being an all-round option. Needless to say, there's barely any international pedigree there, although Rana is slowly making a mark at the A-team level.
The Eden Gardens is expected to be spin-friendly, and KKR are covered on that front. But the possibility that their fast bowlers could leak runs might undo all the good work done by the spinners.
#2 The Knight Riders are once again overdependent on a few big-name players
This is a perennial KKR issue that they've never been able to solve - they're once again too dependent on Andre Russell to be the best version of himself in the middle order. And more often than not, they haven't been able to string together wins when the superstar all-rounder hasn't fired.
Sherfane Rutherford has been potentially signed as a backup, but he barely bowls these days and is far from a like-for-like swap. While Kolkata do have a domestic option in Ramandeep and overseas wicket-keeping options who are better used higher up the order, no one can slot in for Russell in the event of an injury. That's never a fun place to be in, since the West Indian has been known to pull up every now and then.
It isn't just Russell - even if Starc isn't at his best, KKR could be in massive trouble.
#1 KKR are facing a team combination issue in the lower order
Following the openers, either Phil Salt and Rahmanullah Gurbaz alongside Venkatesh Iyer, KKR are expected to have an all-Indian middle order with Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Rinku Singh. The likes of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Mitchell Starc are also nailed on to be part of the side.
However, what that means is that KKR might need to sacrifice either an additional pace option or a third spinner. The latter seems unlikely since Varun Chakaravarthy and Suyash Sharma are in excellent form right now and make up the team's biggest trump card.
Even if the Knight Riders play one of Rana, Arora, and Sakariya alongside Starc, including the benefit of the impact player rule, they will need to rely on Russell to be the third pacer and will compromise on batting depth. And given his injury troubles and lack of all-phase value, they might struggle.
The balance of the first-choice XII just isn't there, and KKR might have to spend some time working out their ideal combination.
