IPL 2021: Full list of players retained by Kolkata Knight Riders

Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have released their complete list of retained players for the Indian Premier League's (IPL) 14th edition.

Unlike many other sides, KKR has retained most of its big names, showing trust in their core group of the players.

Captain Eoin Morgan will continue to be at the helm of KKR in IPL 2021. Rubbishing recent speculations, Kolkata Knight Riders have stuck with former skipper Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav as well. Enterprising all-rounders Andre Russell, Sunil Narine have also retained their spots.

Explosive English opener Tom Banton finds himself out of the side. KKR had stuck with Nikhil Naik as a backup wicket-keeper for quite some time, but he has also been released ahead of IPL 2021.

Siddhesh Lad and M Siddharth are the other youngsters who have been let go.

Morgan on KKR’s Retention Wishlist: “Would be brilliant if we could keep everyone together.”Agree with skipper @Eoin16 about retaining the core?#KKR #IPLRetention pic.twitter.com/YfmFgf5KiR

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) January 20, 2021

Among the retained batsmen, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and Rinku Singh will continue to form the core of the Kolkata Knight Riders' lineup. So will Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy and Lockie Ferguson in the bowling department.

Kolkata Knight Riders have also eked out the contracts for young guns Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Prasidh Krishna, who had all impressed last year.

After an iffy start, the team had started to come along well in the second half of IPL 2020. However, they couldn't reach the playoffs owing to some slender net run rate margins, and ended the tournament in fifth place.

Kolkata Knight Riders will go into the IPL 2021 Auction with the smallest of purses among all teams. They will likely look for a backup wicket-keeper, an explosive top-order batter and some valuable domestic backups.

Kolkata Knight Riders' retained players for IPL 2021

📢 #IPL2021 Retention News ⤵️ https://t.co/0ThvwNvVA1 #KKR #IPLAuction #KolkataKnightRiders #Cricket

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) January 20, 2021

KKR retained players list: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Green, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Kuldeep Yadav, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney, Sandeep Warrier.