"Gurbaz at Eden should be fun" - Fans react to KKR trading in Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz from GT ahead of IPL 2023

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have bolstered their squad by trading in Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz and New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson from the Gujarat Titans (GT) ahead of the IPL 2023 season.

The defending champions have let go of Ferguson, who picked up 12 wickets from 13 games for them last season. However, this is a win for the Knight Riders as he was crucial during their run to the final the season before, having scalped 13 wickets from just eight games.

Gurbaz will be keen to get some game time at KKR after he had to warm the bench for the whole season at GT. He was named as Jason Roy's replacement, but the management trusted Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha over him.

Knight Riders fans on Twitter are really excited about the two signings, while there have been mixed reactions from other fans. Some feel GT made a smart move by freeing up their wallet for the mini-auction, while some believe they should have held on to at least Ferguson.

Here are some of the reactions:

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KKR keen to improve on last season's 7th-place finish

The Knight Riders were looking to make a fresh start last season with new captain Shreyas Iyer at the helm. However, there were certain issues that led to them not qualifying for the playoffs and finishing only in seventh position.

One such issue was the opening partnership. Aaron Finch, Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer were all inconsistent and Kolkata suffered due to that. But Gurbaz's arrival might solve the problem as he has shown how explosive he can be once he gets going. His wicketkeeping skills will also be an added bonus.

Ferguson, on the other hand, already knows a lot about the Knight Riders management and will be keen to settle back into the side quickly.