Based in east at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders have had an interesting journey in the Indian Premier League so far. 

It's a franchise that started off with a star-studded squad that basically underperformed in the league's inaugural edition in 2008, enduring disappointment till another three seasons, finally reaching the top four for the very first time under Gautam Gambhir's leadership in 2011.

Under Gambhir only, KKR won its maiden title a year later before repeating the feat two years thereafter in 2014. 

However, since Gambhir's departure, and the transition from focussing mainly on spin to developing a pace bowling strength for the re-laid surface in Kolkata, KKR has found it more difficult. Especially the last season where under Dinesh Karthik's captaincy, the team clearly didn't look like the force it used to be and failed to reach the playoffs. 

But with an eye towards resurgence ahead of the next season, having a brought in a new coaching regime led by head coach Brendon McCullum, KKR made a few important changes to its squad via retention and release ahead of the auction. 

Here are the players KKR retained: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Warrier, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna.

Traded in: Siddhesh Lad from Mumbai Indians.

And here are the ones the team let go: Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Piyush Chawla, Joe Denly, Yarra Prithviraj, Nikhil Naik, KC Cariappa, Matthew Kelly, Shrikant Mundhe, Carlos Brathwaite, Anrich Nortje.