IPL 2019: Full list of retained players by Kolkata Knight Riders and their salary

The past few weeks have been filled with headlines about the players who have been released from their squads ahead of the 2019 season of the Indian Premier League. There were a few surprise names which have been dropped and some big-name players who have not been retained by their franchises.

This does mean that we can expect the squads of each franchise to have a very different look once the 2019 IPL season does come around, with many big-name players up for grabs. With all the focus being placed on the players who have been released, little attention has been directed towards the players who have been retained and how the squad of each franchise currently looks ahead of the IPL auction.

Let us take a look at the players who the Kolkata Knight Riders have decided to keep as part of their squad for next year's season as they seek to defend their title. While some players have been dropped, many veterans of the squad remain and will continue to form part of the winning recipe which the Kolkata Knight Riders seem to have found.

Below is the full list of players which have been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders as well as their salary:

Sunil Narine - ₹8.5 crore (US$1.2 million)[c]

Chris Lynn - ₹9.6 crore (US$1.3 million)

Andre Russell - ₹7 crore (US$974,022.00)[d]

Dinesh Karthik - ₹7.4 crore (US$1.0 million)

Robin Uthappa - ₹6.4 crore (US$890,534.40)

Kuldeep Yadav - ₹5.8 crore (US$807,046.80)

Piyush Chawla - ₹4.2 crore (US$584,413.20)

Nitish Rana - ₹3.4 crore (US$473,096.40)

Kamlesh Nagarkoti - ₹3.2 crore (US$445,267.20)

Shivam Mavi - ₹3 crore (US$417,438.00)

Shubman Gill - ₹1.8 crore (US$250,462.80)

Rinku Singh - ₹80 lakh (US$111,316.80)

Prasidh Krishna - ₹20 lakh (US$27,829.20)

The Kolkata Knight Riders have retained a powerful and talented squad ahead of next year's Indian Premier League. There are no real surprises with the players who have retained their places in the squad, and the franchise looks set to keep the consistency within their team.

There is still a lot of speculation that Gautam Gambhir might find his way back into the squad, but that remains to be seen. The Kolkata Knight Riders currently have one of the most deadly opening batting combinations in the tournament and will not want to tamper with it in any way.