IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Players Released By Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Who Might Go Unsold In The Auction

To form a roster of 14 players for the IPL 2023 auction, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept 11 players and traded three others from other franchises. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, and Shardul Thakur from the Gujarat Titans and the Delhi Capitals, respectively, were swapped. 

The majority of the 16 players that KKR discharged from their previous season did not play for the team. Under Shreyas Iyer, who was named Kolkata Knight Rider’s new captain prior to the start of the season, KKR finished eighth, winning six games and dropping eight. 

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Many of the players on the list of those who have been publicly revealed are known short-format performers, and some of them are anticipated to be in great demand during the IPL 2023 auction. There are others, though, that might not pique the franchisees’ attention and end up unsold at the future auction.  

Let’s have a look at the 3 Players Released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Who Might Go Unsold in the Auction  

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Players Released By Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Who Might Go Unsold In The Auction

Chamika Karunaratne

The bowling-all-rounder was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL 2022 Auctions but had been warming the bench for the two-time champions.

The Sri Lankan has been very poor with the bat recently, scoring just 19 runs in his last 4 innings. With the overseas tag along with him, it will be very difficult for him to have any bidding in the upcoming IPL 2023 auction.

Mohammad Nabi

Mohammad Nabi, a seasoned player from Afghanistan, was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price of 1 crore during the IPL 2022 mega-auction, however, the all-rounder was discharged after failing to play in even one match for the team.

Nabi hasn’t played much in the IPL overall while he’s been at SRH either; he appeared in just four games total for SRH in the seasons of 2020 and 2021 and none for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022.

Thus, it is obvious that the teams are aware that while Nabi may start for Afghanistan, his form over the past several years has been declining.

Mohammad Nabi has a T20I batting average of just 11 and a bowling average of 30 in 2022, having only claimed 11 wickets in 18 games. Now, it seems highly unlikely that any side will choose the 38-year-old Nabi.

Ajinkya Rahane

In the mega-auction, Cheteshwar Pujara was the unsold player; in the 2-2023 auction, Ajinkya Rahane could be that player. The Test veteran would find it challenging to make the playing XI, let alone the squads of the IPL franchises, due to a recent influx of younger, more aggressive top-order batters.

Rahane played for Kolkata Knight Riders last season after being acquired for his base price of 1 crore because no other team was interested in making a bid for the veteran batsman.

Before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the season, Rahane scored 133 runs in 7 games at a dismal strike rate of 103 — significantly worse than what he had done in previous seasons and awful for an opener.

Kolkata Knight Riders Released Player List: 

Aaron Finch*, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Alex Hales*, Ashok Sharma, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne*, Mohammad  Nabi*, Pat Cummins*, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rasikh Dar, Sam Billings*, Sheldon Jackson, Shivam Mavi 

Also Read: IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Players Released By Gujarat Titans (GT) Who Can Be Bought For More Than 8 Crores 

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