KKR Squad 2023: Full Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) came to the IPL auction 2023 with the smallest budget (₹7.05 crore) and a maximum of 11 slots to fill. This meant they had to watch silently as other teams made record-breaking signings in the first phase.

They sprung into action when Vaibhav Arora, Himachal Pradesh's 25-year-old pace all-rounder's name came on with a base price of ₹20 lakhs. KKR started bidding for him and defeated Lucknow Super Giants to get him for ₹60 lakhs. He has 25 wickets (best spell of 3/16) and seven runs to his name from 24 T20s.

The two-time champions then bid for the current domestic cricket hot property Narayan Jagadeesan and stole it from his home and former IPL side Chennai Super Kings for ₹90 lakhs. The right-handed batter scored five consecutive centuries in this year's Vijay Hazare Trophy, including a 277 (141) and followed it up with another ton in his first Ranji Trophy match of the season.

19-year-old leg-spinner Suyash Sharma became their third signing for his base price of ₹ 20 lakhs. The little-known youngster hails from Delhi. A few videos available of his bowling show him with a quick action and a deceiving googly.

KKR needed a backup for Andre Russell and they made the most expected choice by signing 37-year-old David Wiese for his base price of ₹1 crore. The former South African and now Nambian international is a decent bet as a death-overs bowler where he uses his variations and experience. He can also tonk the ball.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side roped in 30-year-old left-arm seamer Kulwant Khejroliya for ₹20 lakhs. He picked up two wickets in three matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2018 and another from two matches for Delhi Capitals in 2019.

KKR then made two quick ₹50 lakhs signings - Mandeep Singh and Bangladesh's wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das. The former has rode on his domestic record to play for a lot of IPL teams but hasn't been able to have a breakout season yet.

On the other hand, this will be Das' first IPL season. He recently led Bangladesh against India in the ODI series in Tamim Iqbal's absence. He has 1388 runs in 65 T20Is at a strike rate of 128.87. Both players would likely be used as backups.

KKR's former all-rounder and Bangladesh legend Shakib Al Hasan became their final signing of the season for a base price of ₹ 1.5 crore.

Overall, they signed nine players for a combined price of ₹ 5.6 crore.

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KKR players list with price

1. Shreyas Iyer - ₹ 12.25 crore (Retained)
2. Nitish Rana - ₹ 8 crore (Retained)
3. Rinku Singh - ₹ 55 lakhs (Retained)
4. Andre Russell - ₹ 12 crore (Retained)
5. Tim Southee - ₹ 1.5 crore (Retained)
6. Umesh Yadav - ₹ 2 crore (Retained)
7. Venkatesh Iyer - ₹ 8 crore (Retained)
8. Varun Chakravarthy - ₹ 8 crore (Retained)
9. Sunil Narine - ₹ 6 crore (Retained)
10. Anukul Roy - ₹ 20 lakhs (Retained)
11. Harshit Rana - ₹ 20 lakhs (Retained)
12. Shardul Thakur - (Traded from Delhi Capitals)
13. Lockie Ferguson - (Traded from Gujarat Titans)
14. Rahmanullah Gurbaz - (Traded from Gujarat Titans)
15. N Jagadeesan - ₹ 90 lakhs (Signed in the auction)
16. Vaibhav Arora - ₹ 60 lakhs (Signed in the auction)
17. Suyash Sharma - ₹ 20 lakhs (Signed in the auction)
18. David Wiese - ₹ 1 crore (Signed in the auction)
19. Kulwant Khejroliya - ₹ 20 lakhs (Signed in the auction)
20. Mandeep Singh - ₹ 50 lakhs (Signed in the auction)
21. Litton Das - ₹ 50 lakhs (Signed in the auction)
22. Shakib Al Hasan - ₹ 1.5 crore (Signed in the auction)

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IPL 2023 Auction KKR team

IPL 2023 Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan.