After a monumental season in 2024, when Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad to win their third IPL title, the franchise struggled immensely to retain their core unit. They managed to keep Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell and Harshit Rana, and had to release three of their key players in Shreyas Iyer, Mitchell Starc and Phil Salt. That affected KKR immensely in the IPL 2025 season, as the Ajinkya Rahane-led side finished eighth on the points table.
They had the opportunity to get back these players in the auction, but instead, spent heavily on Venkatesh Iyer, buying him for INR 23.75 crore. That, in many regards, ruined their strategy and affected their campaign. KKR realised that and released Venkatesh ahead of the auction. Meanwhile, Andre Russell has also called his time in IPL, leaving KKR with a massive purse of INR 64.3 crore. With that massive budget, these are the five cricketers they can target in the mini-auction:
1. Cameron Green
Pretty obvious, isn’t it? The Australia international is expected to fetch a handsome sum in the auction and in all likelihood, KKR would be extremely interested in his services. With Russell gone and Venkatesh released, the three-time champions will eye a pace-bowling all-rounder and who better than Cameron Green? He’s expected to create a bidding war in the auction and in all possibilities, Green could be the most expensive cricketer ever in IPL history. Notably, he has played 29 matches in the cash-rich league, scoring 707 runs at a strike rate of 153.69 and also clinched 16 wickets.
2. Jamie Smith
KKR would love to have Jamie Smith in the mix, given that the England international can bat anywhere in the order. He can open the innings alongside Sunil Narine and can also slot in down the order to finish games. He can also fix KKR’s keeping issues, as they have released both Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz ahead of the next edition. Meanwhile, Jamie has played five T20Is, scoring 130 runs at a strike rate of 194.02.
3. Jacob Duffy
The franchise will be eager to sign a premium fast bowler and Jacob Duffy could be one on their list. There are other notable options, such as Matt Henry, Gerald Coetzee, Naveen-ul-Haq and Alzarri Joseph, but KKR need a death-bowling option and Duffy fits the bill. Russell used to be their go-to option in the death, and in his absence, the New Zealand international could be an excellent option. He is yet to play in the IPL, and has clinched 53 wickets in 38 T20Is he has played.
4. Prithvi Shaw
Now, why Prithvi Shaw? KKR need an explosive Indian opener and Shaw could be one of the cricketers they might be interested in. The Goa batter went unsold in the last auction, but things changed in recent times as he has shown some consistency in domestic cricket. On top of that, KKR head coach Abishek Nayar, in recent times, expressed interest in coaching Shaw. He could bring him into the set-up for cheap, as the out-of-favour India international has set his base price of only INR 75 lakhs in the auction.
5. Venkatesh Iyer
It won’t be surprising if KKR once again show interest in having Venkatesh Iyer. They did release him ahead of the retention, but at the right price, he could be an excellent option, having good knowledge of the KKR set-up. He could be a future captaincy option as well. The cricketer has already expressed a desire to return back to the franchise and the reunion might happen.