IPL 2021: 5 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The Tournament

Despite a star-studded squad, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have had a torrid first half of the IPL 2021, losing 5 out 7 matches, and languishing at the 7th place on the points table, just a couple of points above Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Captain Eoin Morgan and coach Brendon McCullum have been criticized for some of the tactics in the field and with the batting order. The Knight Riders will be in concerning jeopardy if some of their overseas players opt out of the remainder of the IPL 2021, which is set to resume in September in the UAE.

Here we look at the 5 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The IPL 2021:

Eoin Morgan

The first major blow for KKR could be their captain himself. The ECB officials have stated that the England players will not be released for the second half of the IPL as they plan to give their cricketers some rest in a packed international schedule.

Eoin Morgan, who took over Dinesh Karthik mid-season last year, hasn’t sparkled with the bat this season yet, scoring 92 runs in 7 matches at a strike rate of 112.19. If Morgan doesn’t turn for the remaining matches, it would be interesting to see if KKR fall back to Karthik, or any other player.

Pat Cummins

Another major hit for the Knight Riders would be the absence of premier fast bowler Pat Cummins. The right-hander was one of the shining stars for KKR in a rather disappointing campaign so far – he smashed 93 runs at a strike rate of 166.07, including a quick fifty versus the Chennai Super Kings, and was KKR’s leading wicket-taker with 9 scalps so far.

It would be a hard task for the franchise to find a replacement of a world-class pacer in Pat Cummins. They would then have to rely heavily on its young Indian pacers.

Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson is the best bet for KKR to take Pat Cummins’ place in the eleven if the Australian opts out. However, Ferguson himself might be not available for the UAE leg. New Zealand players could also pull out of the remaining part of the season. Ferguson has been in good form for New Zealand since the last IPL in the UAE.

Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan is unlikely to appear in the remaining IPL matches in the UAE. The BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said that the all-rounder will not get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the BCB to take part in the remainder of IPL. The southpaw played in 3 games of the first half, where he scored 38 and took 2 wickets.

Bangladesh have a busy international schedule in that period in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. After the all-format tour to Zimbabwe, Bangladesh will host Australia, New Zealand and England for white-ball matches ahead of the T20 World Cup, and the board wishes to field its best eleven in those games.

“Given our schedule, it is almost impossible (for Shakib) to get the NOC. I don’t see any possibilities, nor any opportunity. The World Cup is coming up, which makes every game important for us,” Hassan had told Ekattor TV earlier.

Tim Seifert

Tim Seifert’s availability for the second phase of the IPL is also under question as the Kiwis could be playing international cricket at that time. Although Seifert didn’t feature in a single game, he may have been under consideration by McCullum for a position at top of the order, as the coach was unhappy with the incumbents Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana for their slow approach in the loss to the Delhi Capitals.

Seifert has emerged as one of New Zealand first-choice T20 players as he bats with alacrity from the onset and is versatile to fit in any role.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Veterans XI Of The First Phase