Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had one of the thinnest teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They barely made it to their bench even though they finished well away from the top four.
The Knight Riders have work to do in the IPL 2026 auction, before which they will have to decide on their retentions. Reports indicate that their search for names like Sanju Samson was unsuccessful, so we could see the three-time champions strengthening their team outside the trade market.
Interestingly, KKR only had two replacement signings during IPL 2025, and none of them featured for the franchise. However, it might be interesting to keep at least one.
KKR squad for IPL 2025: Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mayank Markande, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik, Chetan Sakariya (right), Shivam Shukla (right).
On that note, we take a look at what KKR should do with their replacement signings in the 2025 IPL.
Verdict – Retain Sakariya and ignore Shukla
KKR’s pace attack, especially in the Indian department, was razor thin in IPL 2025. Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora were the only two names used consistently after Umran Malik was ruled out of the competition.
Chetan Sakariya, who was brought in to replace Malik, didn’t have much to do. However, Kolkata should still consider retaining the left-arm pacer, whose variations can prove useful at Eden Gardens. He’s been pretty consistent in the IPL even though his ceiling isn’t sky-high, and KKR might struggle to find better options in a mini-auction.
Shivam Shukla was signed as a late replacement for Rovman Powell, at a time when KKR was virtually out of the playoff race. The signing didn’t make much sense, but it fit into Kolkata’s model of valuing mystery spinners.
Shukla cannot be retained, however, so it is difficult to understand why Kolkata signed him towards the end of IPL 2025. They could have retained his services as a net bowler and pursued him in the auction if they wanted to pick him in their team.
While the fact that KKR have brought him into the fold indicates that they are evaluating him, it is difficult to understand why they would want to prioritize a 29-year-old when they already have Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Mayank Markande in their ranks.
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Edited by Sai Krishna
