‘They tend to go overboard..’: Sanjay Manjrekar’s million-dollar advice to KKR ahead of IPL 2023 auction

Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have now gone 8 years winning the title, despite reaching the final in 2021, where they fell short to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In the upcoming IPL 2023 auction, KKR have just 7.05 crore to in their kitty, the smallest budget out of all 10 franchises. 

Former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar has rated KKR’s current roster going into the auction, revealing that they need to add some pace battery to complement the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur and others. 

KKR also have a tendency to go ‘slightly overboard’ according to Manjrekar, so they should be looking to avoid that in the upcoming auction. 

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Speaking on Star Sports’ show ‘Game Plan – Auction Special’, Manjrekar decoded the weaknesses in KKR’s current roster, and how they can make full use of the limited funds they have during the IPL 2023 auction. 

“When I look at KKR’s playing eleven, Venkatesh Iyer, Gurbaz, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, the batting looks OK, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy are there. So, I think it’s some pace support is what they need and understandably that’s where they pay the big bucks, so you can understand that,” he said. 

Manjrekar continued, “See, it’s a performance that we’ve seen KKR with regards to the auction, they’ve paid seven crore for (Shivam) Mavi as well, so they tend to go slightly overboard, I don’t think they are the best team at the auction table. Mumbai Indians for a long time, CSK, have had that reputation of being really good at the auctions.”

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The cricketer turned commentator-pundit also revealed that Shardul who was traded in from Delhi Capitals (DC) hasn’t been at his best, but could come in handy, however, Ferguson may prove to be a gamble. 

“But having said that, I think Shardul Thakur is a proven material, I know he didn’t have a great time with Delhi capitals and also for India, not at the top of his game, but in Indian conditions, considering his danger with the bat, perhaps he is somebody that you will say ‘oh okay its worth spending that’,” Manjrekar stated. 

“Lockie (Ferguson) was with them earlier, Lockie, we have seen have a good time with KKR but didn’t quite do his part for his new franchise. So, it’s a bit of a gamble there,” he added further. 

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With a new coach in Chandrakant Pandit at the helm, KKR would be hoping to end their barren run in IPL 2023 but they will have to pull off some smart deals at the auction first. They have 11 slots remaining, and can only add 3 more overseas players to their squad.