KKR have assembled a familiar Playing XI for IPL 2025 as last season but they are quite thin on Indian pace bowling options.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired a total of 15 players from the IPL 2025 Auction, having spent a total of INR 50.95 crore, and the total number of players in their current squad right now stands at 21, including the retained players.
They splurged a massive sum of INR 23.75 crore on re-acquiring Venkatesh Iyer, which drew significant criticism from many experts and fans. But they seemed quite desperate to get him back and it looks like he is going to be their captain this season as well.
The strongest playing XI that can be assembled from this squad has a very familiar look, with nine of the 11 players being same as that of their championship winning season.
The only changes we see are Quinton de Kock for Phil Salt, who has gone to RCB now, and Spencer Johnson for Mitchell Starc, who will play for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 season. Shreyas Iyer is also missing as he is now with Punjab Kings, but his position has been filled up with the talented Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who made an impact with his attractive batting performances last season.
Also Read: KKR Playing XI, IPL 2025: Best Kolkata Knight Riders Playing 11 and Players List
On paper, the first XI or XII, including the impact player, looks very strong and capable of defending their IPL title. But when we take a look at the bench, the options seem quite underwhelming.
The overseas backups of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, and Rovman Powell are quite good, but the rest of the options don’t quite inspire confidence.
Anrinch Nortje is a big name but his recent struggles with injuries and poor form isn’t unknown to anyone. He has been leaking runs at an economy rate of over 9 since the IPL 2022 season. In IPL 2024, it became even worse as he claimed seven wickets in six matches, and leaked runs at a poor economy rate of 13.36. The numbers clearly suggest that he isn’t the same bowler he used to be once.
The issue is similar with Umran Malik. After a breakthrough season in IPL 2022, where he claimed 22 wickets in 14 matches, he has fallen out of favour. He picked up only five wickets in the eight games he played in IPL 2023, while going at 10.85 runs per over.
Malik’s stint in IPL 2024 was even shorter as he bowled only one over and conceded 15 runs in it. To go with that, he recently recovered from an injury and his bowling returns in domestic cricket post that haven’t been impressive either.
Both are going through a bad time but there is probably hope for them as they will work under astute minds like Bharat Arun and Dwayne Bravo at KKR. Is their hope for them both? Only time will tell.
If we take a look at KKR’s Indian pacers in the XI, Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora, they have only one Indian backup in Umran Malik. This is where KKR faltered. In a long season like the IPL, there should be at least two or three India fast bowling backups as they have the highest chances of encountering injuries in such a long season.
Yes, you can always ask for replacements if someone gets injured, but what’s the probability of them coming into the squad midseason and performing well? Very low, right?
It’s the same with Andre Russell. If he misses out with injury, Rovman Powell can fill in. But they will need someone else to bowl his overs. Venkatesh Iyer might do that, but his bowling is nowhere near Russell’s standards. Injuries to them will also hamper the balance of the lineup.
If we imagine the worst possible scenario of both Harshit and Vaibhav getting injured, only Umran Malik is there as an Indian pace bowler and an overseas pacer like Anrich Nortje. KKR will need to opt for dropping de Kock to accomodate Nortje, until they find a proper Indian backup. So, KKR’s success this season will be heavily dependent on Harshit and Vaibhav staying fit throughout the season. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Venky Mysore seemed very happy to acquire Rahane and Ali for a combined sum of INR 3.5 crores. While they are big names, they are at the fag end of their careers and their T20 numbers are dwindling day by day.
Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane as KKR Captain in IPL 2025? Venky Mysore Reveals
Moreover, the amount they spent on acquiring them could have been easily spent on buying cheaper domestic pace bowlers and batters. Instead of these two players, KKR could have bought six players at this price to round up a squad of 25 players. Instead, they have settled for only 21 players.
KKR still have a squad capable of defending their title in IPL 2025, but they will need to manage the workload of their pacers properly for that. If they can do that, and the the players escape unscathed, KKR stand a chance of adding a fourth IPL trophy to their cabinet.
