3 KKR players who might be benched throughout IPL 2025 ft. Rovman Powell

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are known for stability and consistency in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Their run to the IPL 2024 trophy saw them use a very limited set of players, with even experienced men like Nitish Rana sitting out due to a stable team combination.

KKR understandably haven't been able to bring the entire band back together, although they tried. The likes of Phil Salt, Mitchell Starc and Shreyas Iyer have moved on to other teams, but Kolkata still have a stable playing XII that they're unlikely to change too much over the course of the upcoming season.

KKR's squad for IPL 2025: Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mayank Markande, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik.

On that note, here are three KKR players who might be benched throughout IPL 2025.

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#3 Rovman Powell

West Indies v England - 3rd T20I - Source: Getty

Signed presumably as a backup for Andre Russell, Rovman Powell might not be central to KKR's plans during IPL 2025. The big-hitting West Indian all-rounder doesn't offer much with the ball, and although his power will be an asset to any team, the franchise's overseas combination is unlikely to allow his presence.

Russell has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the years, but he seems to have found the right balance between strength and agility in recent times. He got through IPL 2024 without any incident, even though he was asked to contribute with the ball on a regular basis.

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#2 Anukul Roy

Anukul Roy has been a staple of the KKR bench over the last two IPL seasons. While the left-arm spinner has occasionally made appearances off the bench as an impact player and regularly as a substitute fielder, he hasn't been able to establish himself as a starter.

It isn't hard to understand why, with Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine forming the IPL's best spin-bowling tandem. While there is a small chance that Anukul could be used when Kolkata need three spinners, they might turn to Mayank Markande instead.

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#1 Moeen Ali

Guyana Amazon Warriors v Victoria - ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League T20 - Source: Getty

Signed towards the end of the IPL 2025 auction, Moeen Ali wasn't in high demand. KKR clearly value his experience, but it's hard to see how the Englishman gets any game time for the three-time IPL champions.

KKR's middle order is filled with Indian batters, and they have the quartet of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson and Anrich Nortje fighting for the two overseas slots following Narine and Russell. Moeen is also well past his prime and hasn't been in the best of form in recent times.