IPL 2025: 3 Areas of concern for KKR ahead of the season

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the winners of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), built a decent squad at the mega auction after retaining six players. 

Venkatesh Iyer was their most expensive player, splurging Rs 23.75 crore, and is likely to be named the captain as well. But is their squad good enough to defend their title in IPL 2025?

Here are 3 Areas of concern for KKR ahead of the season:

1. No proper replacement for a Phil Salt-like player

KKR not bidding for Phil Salt was the biggest surprise at the auction. Salt, along with Sunil Narine, played a vital role at the top of the order for KKR in IPL 2024 providing them with whirlwind starts. Instead, the franchise has picked Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

The former is not anymore the player he used to be while Gurbaz is a kind of hit-and-miss player. With Narine’s slambang approach a bonus if clicked, KKR needed a solid opener like Salt to repeat the 2024-like heroics.

2. No proper backups

KKR are absolutely settled with their first XI but IPL is played for two months and injuries are imminent to happen to the players. In this case, their backups are extremely thin. Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey are among backups in batting and both are not great in T20s when it comes to smashing the ball. 

Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora are certainties in the playing XI among fast bowlers while one of Anrich Nortje or Spencer Johnson is likely to play. Both the foreign pacers are injury prone while Umran Malik is the only backup among Indian fast bowlers. If someone from batting or bowling gets injured, KKR is likely to struggle in the specific department during the season.

3. Who is the captain?

KKR are yet to announce their captain officially for the next IPL season. Looking at the squad, there is no one who seems like a veteran leader either. Reports state Venkatesh Iyer is likely to be handed over the big responsibility but clearly, he doesn’t seem to be the first choice. The notion among experts was that KKR spent such a huge amount for Iyer only to make him captain.

But then if that was the case, then the franchise would’ve right away named their skipper after the auction. In the case of Iyer, he is not even the captain of his state team Madhya Pradesh where he plays under Rajat Patidar.

Meanwhile, the only other option to lead the team is Rahane who is not a certainty in the playing XI as of now. If KKR ends up going that route, then they are likely to bench Angkrish Raghuvanshi who bats at three and is naturally an aggressive stroke maker.

Rahane is a good option to be made captain as he led Mumbai to the title in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season. He is also in great form with the bat, however, the quality of bowlers he will face in the IPL will definitely be higher than domestic cricket.

In conclusion, while the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have built a decent squad for IPL 2025, there are still areas of concern that need to be addressed. The lack of a proper replacement for a player like Phil Salt, the absence of quality backups, and the uncertainty around the captaincy are key issues that could impact their performance. Addressing these concerns will be crucial for KKR as they aim to defend their title in the upcoming season.

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