Gautam Gambhir has been with KKR since 2011. (Source: Express Archive)
Kolkata Knight Riders made a bold move on Thursday at the IPL Retention 2018 event as they announced they will not be retaining captain Gautam Gambhir. Instead of the 36-year old, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side retained West Indies spinner Sunil Narine and all-rounder Andre Russell.
Gambhir has been a part of the side since 2011 and has scored 2537 runs. Moreover, the left-hander led KKR to two titles, the first came in 2012 while the second in 2014. Gambhir has now been released in the IPL auction scheduled to be held on January 27 and 28. Under him, KKR, which struggled in the starting 3 editions of IPL, emerged as one of the most consistent teams, reaching play-offs stages 5 times in 7 years.
The decision to not pick Gambhir could be a smart move on the part of KKR owners, who think they can bring him back to the side using Right-To-Match (RTM) cards at the auctions which will take place on January 27 and January 28. With the help of RTM, KKR can still get him at a comparatively lower price and can have a heavier purse for the auctions. But, if they fail to get him at the auctions, then KKR will really need to buy a player who can give the side the leadership they were given under the Delhi batsman.
Sunil Narine’s retention doesn’t come as a surprise as the spinner has the ability to put a halt on the run flow. In the 2017 season, Narine scalped 10 wickets from 16 matches maintaining a healthy economical rate of 6.98. Moreover, The West Indian also showed up his abilities with the willow as he opened the innings several times and took on the opponent’s bowling attack in the powerplay overs.
Andre Russell who was banned last year due to a doping violation is a handy customer with both bat and ball. Russell became a part of the Kolkata franchise in 2014 after he was bought up for Rs 60 lakh during the auction. Thanks to his pinch hitting abilities and history of being able to provide teams with a push at the fag end of the innings, KKR have loosened their purse strings for the West Indian.
In three Indian Premier League seasons, Russell accumulated 516 runs.
Apart from Gambhir, some more big names were not retained by KKR and the list includes Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Yusuf Pathan, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile or Kuldeep Yadav.
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