IPL 2022: 3 Most Valuable Players Of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Kolkata Knight Riders, the two-time IPL champions finished seventh in Shreyas Iyer’s debut season as KKR captain. Kolkata went hard behind attaining him in the mega auction and they finally bought him for 12.25 crores. However, he was not able to make a big impact as captain in his first season.

KKR made as many as 21 changes to their playing XI throughout the season. This was enough to understand that Iyer found it tough to under the Kolkata Knight Riders’ playing culture. He scored over 400 runs with the bat but few of them came in a winning cause.

The biggest worry for KKR heading into the next season is finding a perper and string XI which can compete with the rest of the nine teams. With Brendon McCullum ending his tenure as KKR coach this year, the franchise will also need to appoint a head coach before the start of IPL 2023.

Despite this being not a campaign to remember, there were a few positives for KKR. In this article, we take a look at three valuable KKR players in the IPL 2022 season.

IPL 2022: 3 Most Valuable Players Of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Andre Russell

Russell has once again proved his worth for KKR. He was the biggest contributor for KKR with 17 wickets and 335 runs. Russell hit 32 maximums this season and seemed like the only KKR player in any kind of momentum. Though he was not chosen as the MVP this year, he was definitely KKR’s most valuable player.

Also Read: IPL 2022: 3 Most Memorable Encounters Of The Season For Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Umesh Yadav

Yadav was by far the biggest positive for Kolkata Knight Riders. He ended the season with 16 wickets and got the ball to swing early on inside the powerplay. He picked up wickets regularly in the opening overs to give Kolkata good starts with the ball. Next season he will become an even more crucial member of the side.

Tim Southee

Southee was seen as a backup for Pat Cummins but as the season went on, he became crucial for KKR with the ball. Along with Umesh Yadav, he paired up from the other end and picked wickets as well. He picked 14 wickets from 9 games and was an absolute asset for KKR. Southee and Cummins played a couple of matches together in the playing XI. The management should work out a way to get them playing together throughout the next season.

Also Read: 5 Players Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Will Surely Retain For IPL 2023