IPL 2020: 3 players KKR should target in the auction 

With the date for the IPL 2020 auction announced by BCCI, the team management of every franchise would have started plotting about the players they need to go after in the auction. The event will take place in Kolkata on 19 December.

Speaking of Kolkata, the city’s own franchise - the Kolkata Knight Riders - had a mediocre season in 2019 as the side failed to qualify for the playoffs. They managed to grab the fifth position thanks to Andre Russell’s heroics, but the team management will look to set up a more stable team this season.

Kolkata’s young fast bowlers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi are expected to be available for the 13th edition of the cash-rich league. However, they still require some more competent names in the bowling division and a back-up option for the opening position.

So without further ado, let us look at the three players that Kolkata Knight Riders may target in the auction:

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#3 Chris Jordan (overseas fast bowler)

Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan has been splendid in the shortest format of the game. He has represented England nation in 39 T20Is where he has scalped 47 wickets at a satisfactory average of 25.47.

Though he is no longer a constant member of England’s T20I team, no one will ever forget his spell of 4/6 (on 8 March 2019), where he single-handedly blew away the Windies team.

Jordan has also featured in the IPL, having played 11 matches across three seasons. His best performance came in the 2016 season where he picked 4 wickets playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions.

Jordan has taken 5 wickets in 4 matches in the ongoing CPL tournament. Also, the Barbados-born player possesses the ability to score quick runs in the slog overs.

Since Kolkata Knight Riders do not have an experienced overseas name in the fast bowling department, they can opt to go after Chris Jordan, who would likely be available at a relatively cheaper price as well.

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#2 Kane Richardson (overseas fast bowler)

Kane Richardson

If you take a closer look at the Kolkata Knight Riders squad, you will realize that their best foreign pacer is Lockie Ferguson. The likes of Harry Gurney and Matthew Kelly have little experience of playing in Indian conditions. Also, Gurney and Ferguson have been conceding runs at a dismal rate in the death overs.

The team management could well replace both the fast bowlers by bringing Chris Jordan and Australian talent Kane Richardson into the team. Richardson last played in the IPL during the 2016 season but he has featured in 14 IPL games where he has taken 18 wickets at an impressive strike rate of 17.61.

The 28-year-old fast bowler has been phenomenal in the Big Bash League. He has played 59 games in the BBL, taking 73 wickets at an economy rate of 7.96.

The South Australia-based player is hailed as a white-ball specialist by many. He can solve KKR’s problem of keeping a check on the run rate by taking wickets at regular intervals.

#1 Alex Hales (back-up for the opening position)

Alex Hales

The only English batsman to have scored a hundred in T20Is, Alex Hales has played in just one IPL season thus far. The right-handed batsman turned up for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 where he scored 148 runs in 6 games.

Though Hales is not having a great CPL tournament in the Caribbean, a player of his caliber knows how to bounce back in style. Kolkata Knight Riders have always believed in attacking the opposition bowlers from ball one, and the Middlesex-born batsman has the same approach.

By the end of last year’s IPL, the KKR team management seemed to have zeroed in on the pair of Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill as their openers. However, Lynn is a very injury-prone player. Moreover, if he doesn't get going in the opening games, KKR would need someone who can bat in the same way as Australian batsman.

Hence, they should target Alex Hales in the auction. The Englishman can bring a lot of value to the squad of the two-time IPL winners.