They will enter the auction with the biggest purse.
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction coming up soon, teams will be looking to finalise their squad. Kolkata Knight Riders have the highest purse of INR 64.3 crore and 13 slots to fill, making them likely the busiest franchise as they have many gaps to cover. With such a big purse, there will be many players in the KKR IPL 2026 auction targets list.
KKR have retained only two overseas players, Sunil Narine and Rovman Powell, and released big names like Andre Russell, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Moeen Ali. This leaves six overseas slots to fill.
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Let’s take a look at six overseas KKR target players for the mega auction on December 16.
Kolkata Knight Riders won the title in 2024, but they had a disappointing last season. Both their departments of batting and bowling failed to deliver, and their overseas players also didn’t perform as expected. The team struggled to find the right combination throughout the tournament.
One player that might be included in KKR IPL 2026 auction targets is Cameron Green. With the huge sum of money left after retentions and releases, KKR are likely to go hard for him. He can be a good replacement for Russell, as he can help the team with both batting and bowling.
KKR are likely to look for a powerful top-order batter as well. In IPL 2025, openers Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine didn’t perform well, so the team may look at a fresh option. This is why Finn Allen could be one of the KKR target players, and he can also keep wickets. It makes sense for KKR, especially after releasing their overseas keepers, de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Because Eden Gardens has short boundaries, Allen’s aggressive batting can be quite effective. As one of the KKR IPL 2026 auction targets, Finn Allen could be a valuable addition who can help improve KKR’s performance.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have Matt Henry at the top of their list of KKR IPL 2026 auction targets because they don’t have any overseas fast bowlers after the retentions. They have released Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson, leaving a big gap in their pace attack.
With Tim Southee becoming their new bowling coach, KKR may look towards New Zealand pacers in the auction, and Matt Henry could be one of the strongest options for them.
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Jamie Smith could be another wicketkeeper-batter option for KKR. He opens for England in T20Is, so he can fit well in the top order. Earlier this year in The Hundred, the London Spirit player scored 203 runs in seven innings with a strike rate of 170.58. He has also played five T20Is so far, with an impressive strike rate of 194.02.
With these numbers, Jamie Smith could be one of the interesting KKR target players. If he is included in the KKR squad 2026, they can expect fireworks from him in the power play, especially if he opens the innings with Sunil Narine.
The release of Andre Russell on the IPL 2026 retention deadline was a big surprise. After spending 11 seasons with the team from 2014 to 2025, many expected him to stay. But KKR can still try to bring him back at a lower price in the mini auction.
Last year, they released Venkatesh Iyer and reacquired him, so the same could happen with Russell. Since he has been one of their biggest match-winners, he will likely remain one of the KKR target players and a strong name among the KKR IPL 2026 auction targets. With a purse of INR 64.3 crore, KKR have the money to go for the West Indies giant.
On the retention deadline day, KKR left out big names, which gave them the highest auction purse. They also released all their overseas pacers, so filling that slot will be one of their biggest priorities. Matheesha Pathirana, a CSK release, also becomes one of the strong KKR target players.
Pathirana can lead their pace attack, with Harshit Rana supporting him. With the huge KKR remaining purse, he is expected to be one of the key KKR IPL 2026 auction targets, making it easy for the team to go after him. The Sri Lanka pacer has 47 wickets in 32 IPL matches.
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