KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR) – EOIN MORGAN AND ANDRE RUSSELL
One franchise that promised so much in IPL 2020, but couldn’t deliver was the Kolkata Knight Riders. They boasted of one of the most promising and scariest batting orders on paper, but the names and numbers couldn’t translate into the success of the field.
However, KKR can take hope from the performance of their new captain Eoin Morgan who made 418 runs at a 138.41 strike rate.
He was one of the few batsmen who made consistent runs and though took the captaincy in the middle of the season, did well to keep the team in the fray for playoffs qualification. Morgan will be justified retention from the KKR side ahead of the 2021 IPL auction.
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Andre Russell had an exactly opposite season to IPL 2019, where he had smashed 52 sixes and 500 plus runs. He came into the IPL 2020 with an injury and suffered another injury as well, hampering what was already a below-par performance from him. A fitter and agile Russell could do wonders for the team, as seen in IPL 2019, and KKR will definitely not let him go into the 2021 IPL auction.
KINGS XI PUNJAB (KXIP) – CHRIS GAYLE AND NICHOLAS POORAN
Kings XI Punjab had themselves to blame for their performances in the IPL 2020, which saw their hopes for playoffs end after they lost their last league match to Chennai Super Kings. Only if they had won more than 1 match out of their first seven, they would have found themselves in a better position. Talking of the overseas players that KXIP can retain ahead of the 2021 season, one sure-fire name that comes to mind is that of Nicholas Pooran.
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Pooran, the pocket dynamo, smashed 351 runs at a 169.71 strike-rate and hit 25 sixes as well, proving to be an able finisher and someone who should be batting up the order. He was brilliant at destroying bowling attacks and KXIP might already have his name jotted on the piece of paper on which they might be writing their retentions for the 2021 IPL.
The second overseas player who KXIP might retain should be the ‘Universe Boss’, Chris Gayle. After missing 7 matches, Gayle turned up in his old avatar and almost carried the KXIP into the playoffs with 288 runs, 3 half-centuries at an average of 41.14. The age might be catching up on Chris Gayle, but he still has one or two more IPL performances in his kitty and 2021 IPL should be one of them.
