IPL 2019: Recent form of KKR's 3 big overseas recruits

The Kolkata Knight Riders added more firepower to their squad in the IPL Auction for 2019. In the previous season, the Knight Riders had surpassed all expectations as they made it to the knockout stages of the tournament. The side which lacked the balance in the previous edition added that in the IPL 2019 Auction.

The Knights had earlier released the Aussie duo of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc as they went into the auction. Their most expensive buy in the auction was the Windies skipper, Carlos Brathwaite. Apart from Brathwaite, KKR bought 7 players like the Kiwi bowler Lockie Ferguson and the experienced English all-rounder Joe Denly.

This is how 3 of KKR's latest overseas recruits have been performing:

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#1 Joe Denly

Joe Denly had an impressive 2018 which saw his return to the national side after a period of 9 years. In 2017 Denly had led the charts for his side Kent in both the Championship as well as Twenty20.

In 2018, Denly had a great time at the Vitality Blast where he scored 409 runs at an average of 37.18 with a strike rate of 145.03. He proved his abilities as an all-rounder as he was also one of the leading wicket-takers of the tournament with 20 wickets coming at an average of 16.75.

He played a major role for Kent in the Vitality Blast as he ended as both their the leading run scorer and wicket-taker. Denly's consistent show in the domestic circuit earned him his international cap after a period of 9 years where he emerged as the Man of the Match on return.

He picked up figures of 4 for 19 in his four-over spell in his return game against Sri Lanka. Prior to that, he had scored 20 runs in the first innings before getting dismissed in the 18th over.

Denly's 2018 became more illustrious for him as he was named as the Vitality Blast Player of the Year, Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year and also the Players' Player of the Year at the Professional Cricketers Association awards in London on the 4th of October 2018.

Denly was bought by the Sydney Sixers for the BBL 2018-19. He scored an unbeaten 76 in his last game for the Sydney Sixers before heading for the West Indies tour. Denly will be looking forward to playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders who picked him for a bargain price of ₹1 Crore.

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#2 Carlos Brathwaite

The WindiesT20I skipper, Carlos Brathwaite was KKR's most expensive buy at the IPL Auction for 2019. He was bought for ₹5 Crore. The now Windies skipper became the talk of the town after he smashed Ben Stokes for 4 consecutive sixes in the T20 World Cup final in 2016 that too at the Eden Gardens.

In the 2018 IPL, Brathwaite turned out for the Sunrisers Hyderabad who bought him for ₹2 Crore. He just played 4 games for the Sunrisers in 2018 where he picked up 5 wickets and scored runs at a strike rate of 156.25. It was no surprise when the skipper was picked up by the Knight Riders for a hefty amount.

Brathwaite didn't have a good performance in the away T20 series against India and Bangladesh. Against India, he was only able to score 19 runs and pick 2 wickets in 3 games. Whereas against Bangladesh, he was only able to score 15 runs and pick up 2 wickets in 3 games. He's currently featuring for the Khulna Titans in the Bangladesh Premier League. He'd earlier played in the inaugural T10 league for the Rajputs.

The Knight Riders fans will be looking forward to Brathwaite's all-round show as he comes back to the ground where he scripted history.

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#3 Lockie Ferguson

The Kiwi spearhead, Lockie Ferguson was bought for INR 1.6 Crore by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2019 IPL Auction. Lockie was recently a part of the Kiwis side for the ODI and T20 series against Pakistan. He only played a solitary game in the T20 series where he picked up figures of 1 for 29 in 4 overs.

In the ODI series, he emerged as the leading wicket-taker taking 11 wickets in 3 games at an astounding average of 12.81. Apart from this, he was also a part of the New Zealand A side that played India A at home.

In the recently concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka, Ferguson had a decent show as he picked up 6 wickets in 2 games at an average of 17.50. In the one-off T20 between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankans were cruising to victory, Ferguson changed the game in favor of the Kiwis with his double-wicket over to take the Kiwis to another win and ended with figures of 3 for 21.

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