IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Players Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Can Target

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Players Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Can Target. Lucknow Super Giants were one of the two new franchises that made their debut in IPL 2022. The Lucknow-based franchise became the first one to represent Uttar Pradesh in the Indian Premier League. KL Rahul was named the captain of the team. The team management formed a stellar squad at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

As expected, LSG made it to the playoffs in their debut season, but they could not win the title. Lucknow finished third on the points table, meaning they had to play in the Eliminator match. Royal Challengers Bangalore knocked them out of the competition by defeating them in the Eliminator match. Lucknow Super Giants may release Indian batter Manish Pandey, Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye, and Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis because of his hefty price tag.

Changing the captain didn’t bring KKR any luck as Shreyas Iyer’s side finished in the bottom half of the table. KKR had done poorly at last year’s auction and so their results weren’t surprising. They need to do better at this year’s auction to bounce back in the IPL. The likes of Aaron Finch, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Pratham Singh, and Ramesh Kumar may be released by the franchise ahead of IPL 2023 auctions.

Kolkata Knight Riders appointed Chandrakant Pandit as their new Head Coach, replacing New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum. Chandrakant Pandit is a high-profile coach in the Indian domestic circuit, having won trophies with Mumbai, Vidharba, and Madhya Pradesh. He is known to get the best out of his cricketers.

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Players Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Can Target

Aaron Finch

Kolkata Knight Riders signed Aaron Finch as a replacement for England batter Alex Hales for the IPL 2022. Aaron Finch – Australia’s ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain in 2021 joined KKR at the price of INR 1.5 crore.

When it comes to IPL, Aaron Finch is no stranger having played for eight other franchises since his IPL debut in 2010. When he turns up for KKR, it will be his ninth IPL franchise that he will be representing.

However, Aaron Finch only managed 86 runs in 5 T20Is in IPL 2022 averaging a mere 17.2 and if he’s released by KKR, LSG may try to acquire his services in IPL 2023. Aaron Finch had already retired from ODIs but is playing T20Is. He has played 92 IPL games scoring 2091 runs averaging 25.91.

Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer had a prolific 2021 IPL season amassing 370 runs in 10 matches at an average of 41.11 in the 2nd half of IPL 2021 played at UAE. His good form in the IPL earned him a place in the national side in T20Is & ODIs.  However, in IPL 2022, he managed only 182 runs in 12 games averaging a mere 16.55 at a strike rate of only 107.69.

The pace all-rounder may be picked up by Lucknow Super Giants if he’s released by KKR ahead of IPL 2023 mini auctions. He had also picked 3 scalps in his debut IPL 2021 season but was wicketless in IPL 2022. He definitely will be on LSG’s radar in IPL 2023.

Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins made waves in the IPL 2020 Auction when he was bagged by KKR for a whopping INR 15.50 crores. He was the most expensive buy in the IPL 2020 Auction. He picked 12 wickets in 14 games that included a 4-wicket haul in the IPL 2020 season.

The following season in IPL 2021, he picked 9 wickets but his batting capabilities also came to the fore when he won a crucial match against CSK scoring an unbeaten 66. He was not retained by KKR ahead of the IPL 2022 season but was brought in the IPL Auction for INR 7.25 crore. He picked 7 scalps in IPL 2022 in 5 games averaging 30.29.

But Pat Cummins played an innings of his life against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022. Pat Cummins equaled the record of the fastest fifty in the history of IPL to give KKR an unexpectedly easy victory over MI. Pat Cummins stayed unbeaten with 56 of 15 balls. If he’s not retained by KKR in IPL 2023 due to his hefty price tag, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) might target the pace all-rounder as they don’t have good pace all-rounders apart from Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis.