IPL 2024 Auction: 'Not An IPL-Winning Batting Line-Up' - AB de Villiers On Gautam Gambhir-Mentored KKR

Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers analyzed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. He lauded their bowling attack but feels that they don’t have a batting line-up to win their third title in the IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders hogged the headlines recently when they spent 24.75 crores to buy Mitchell Starc in the IPL. They spent more than half of their purse to acquire the services for the Australian pacer so that they could strengthen their bowling line-up for the upcoming edition of the league.

The presence of Mitchell Starc no doubt will bolster their bowling lineup. But one of the things that will be concerning is their batting lineup. They brought Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, and keeper-batter KS Bharat in the auction but these players aren’t the sort of match winners that would’ve wanted.

KKR have the likes of skipper Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nitish Rana, and others. They would be hoping that these batters bring out their best and help the team win the third title. The franchise, notably, since the last few seasons has been below par.

AB de Villiers admitted that KKR have good batters in the ranks but it isn’t an IPL-winning batting lineup. He said that their top four won’t be one of the top four batting line-ups at this year’s IPL. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he explained:

“I think their bowling attack is fantastic. The issue lies in the batting department. They don’t have bad batters, but I don’t think that’s an IPL-winning batting line-up. Shreyas Iyer is a wonderful batter. He delights me up the order there. Rinku Singh is a good finisher.

“The batting line-up doesn’t look bad, but I don’t think it’s one of the top four batting line-ups at this year’s IPL. That’s what I think KKR is lacking at this year’s IPL.”

IPL 2024: CSK is the street-smart team of the IPL – AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers apart from Kolkata Knight Riders analysed Chennai Super Kings squad as well. The MS Dhoni-led side silently picked quite a few impact players in the auction. They brought in the likes of Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, and others.

AB de Villiers hailed the Chennai Super Kings as street smart team of the IPL. He pointed out that Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra were much needed for the team in the tournament. He also added that the buying Shardul Thakur was one of the biggest steals in the tournament. He explained:

“CSK is the street smart team of the IPL and they have been that forever. I think Daryl Mitchell was very much needed and Rachin Ravindra in that middle order. Both New Zealanders have had very good World Cups, scoring hundreds. Shardul Thakur, he is a fantastic cricket player in all formats. One of the biggest steals in this year’s IPL.”

Chennai Super Kings brought Daryl Mitchell for INR 14 crore. He along with Rachin Ravindra will be crucial for the team in the tournament. Both batters were in fine form during the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2023 and helped the team reach the semi-final.