The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction has concluded. Two days of the auction saw 10 franchises of the competition spend INR 639.15 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. A total of 182 players, including 62 overseas cricketers, were sold during a two-day extravaganza in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah. All the teams have got the cricketers that they have wanted in their team. There were some skyrocketing bids as well.
Some shocking names were unsold at the auction as well. David Warner, Shardul Thakur, and Prithvi were the most shocking names. Rishabh Pant has gone big in the auction as he creates history after becoming the highest-paid player in the history of the IPL auction with INR 27 crore, he was sold to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). It was a tense bidding war between LSG and Delhi Capitals.
Former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer was the second-highest in the history of the competition with INR 26.75 crore, he was bought by Punjab Kings. we will be doing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis of every team. In this article, we will analyse the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad. Venkatesh Iyer was their main buy with a huge amount of INR 23.75 crore.
SWOT Analysis of Kolkata Knight Riders
Strength
They have bought back almost the majority of the 2024 squad. improved their batting lineup by adding Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. In addition to these players, the team’s batting lineup includes Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine, with Ramandeep Singh also known for his aggressive batting.
They have got good backup for the overseas slots. Apart from this, they have a spin bowling attack that looks very sharp. With Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Mayank Markande they are looking lethal in the spin department.
Weakness
Leadership will be one of the weaknesses of the side. They have let go of Shreyas Iyer and have not got any natural captain in the side. The next captain will be inexperienced whoever, it can be. There are numerous contenders but no one is tested in the IPL or international cricket.
The Indian batters have no backups for them. In the long league if any batters get seriously injured it will be a big loss for the side. Ajinkya Rahane despite having a good two seasons with Chennai Super Kings will use his experience among the bunch of young stars.
Opportunities
KKR has some good young guys Umran Malik, Luvnith Sisodia, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, they would like to perform whenever given a chance in the squad and make a name for themselves. There are many such strong players, who have not been seen in their best form for some time. But they can be seen playing an important role in their team’s victory in the Indian Premier League 2025.
Anrich Nortje has the best chance to prove himself in the top-tier league. As the South African pacer has been out of form for some time and with Eden Gardens pitch known for its pace and bounce it will help the Proteas pacer to get back in form.
Threats
The Kolkata Knight Riders face a threat from their fast bowling lineup and top order. Quinton de Kock and Gurbaz will play at the top of the order. Sunil Narine, who fared admirably for KKR last season, will also be seen opening.
However, if these three players are included in the playing XI, the franchise will be required to incorporate one more foreign player. The likes of Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Spencer Johnson, and Rovman Powell. Narine and Russell will be sticking in the first XI. Now it remains to be seen who are the remaining two foreign players of Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming season.
KKR’s possible playing XI
Quinton de Kock, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakravarthy.
Impact Player; Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Markande
