IPL 2018: KKR Could Retain Sunil Narine, Not Gautam Gambhir

Two-time IPL champion, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) could very well retain the services of Sunil Narine, as per a report in Sportstar. The news has come out just a couple of days after Gautam Gambhir, the KRR captain, revealed that he was not sure about his future with the franchise as he is yet to be contacted by any official.

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The last day for retaining players is January 4, and until now, franchises would have surely contacted players, but Gambhir is yet to receive any message from the franchise.

Sunil Narine though is expected to be retained. Narine, who played as an all-rounder in the previous IPL season, turned to an opener when Chris Lynn was ruled out for a month. Narine did well for the side. It was during last season of BBL when Narine opened the innings, and skipper Gambhir punted on him in IPL as well.

Due to the price which a franchise has to spend to retain a player, there are very bright chances that franchise will look to retain Narine as he can open the innings as well and can do wonders with the ball as well. Though one cannot rule out the possibility of KKR using Right to Match card (RTM) on Gautam Gambhir on the auction day

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Under Gambhir, KKR qualified for the Qualifiers in IPL 2017. Gambhir himself led the team in the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad where he played an innings of 32* off 19 in a rain-curtailed game.

It will be a big surprise if the franchise realises Gambhir. Though KKR has had a history of dropping surprises as earlier as well, they released Sourav Ganguly a few years back.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings have retained MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. For the third player, there is competition between many players, but the franchise always has an option to retain their favourite with the use of RTM card on the auction day.

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Video of the day –