Prior to the 2024 Indian Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) announced a number of players with speed, including Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Shardul Thakur, and Lockie Ferguson. As a result, with just Andre Russell, Vaibhav Arora, and Harshit Rana remaining, the two-time winners are anticipated to make large bids for pacers in the forthcoming IPL auction. They appear to have a well-organized spin department, but the squad currently lacks excellent Indian openers and pacers.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra says that Dilshan Madushanka, who fared brilliantly in the recently finished ODI World Cup, is a target for newly recruited KKR coach Gautam Gambhir. At the end of the competition, the 23-year-old took the third-most wickets, with 23 taken in nine matches. The pacer might fetch as much as INR 6–8 crore during the auction, according to Chopra, who also thinks it would draw a lot of teams.
“They haven’t overindulged in alternatives. They would not be able to complete the task on their own, despite having two Indian fast bowlers, Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora.
In any event, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about Andre Russell’s bowling prowess,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube account.
I have a feeling they’ll hunt for quick bowlers. The fact that they are wealthy makes it very unlikely for any franchise to outbid them. I have a good feeling that Gautam Gambhir has Madushanka in his sights. It seems that Madushanka might be in for a real treat. Perhaps six or eight crores would be asked for his sale,” he said.
In the IPL auction, KKR still has INR 32.3 crore to spend. More information will be revealed at the auction, which is scheduled to take place in Dubai on December 19, although initial rumors suggested that the club was interested in considering Mitchell Starc.