Kolkata Knight Riders who have won the IPL title twice in 2012 and 2014 had a successful IPL Auction this year as they bought some good players at a cheaper price. Kolkata Knight Riders have filled their slots but over the last couple of years, they had filled only 18-19 slots. KKR was a franchisee that would not fill all the slots and pick only 18-19 players.
Picking only those many please meant they would spend a lot of money on some key players. In the past auctions, they have bought players at a huge price and some of them have worked while some of them didn’t work. So, let’s have a look at the five most expensive buys by KKR in the history of IPL Auctions.
5. Mitchell Starc – 9.4 CR
After 3 years, Mitchell Starc had given his name in the IPL Auction and most of the teams wanted to buy him. Kolkata Knight Riders had retained two overseas players in Sunil Narine and Andre Russell and were aiming for Mitchell Starc in the auction.
In the 2018 IPL Auction, KKR got Mitchell Starc for 9.4 CR and at that point, it seemed like a great buy. But Starc got injured before the IPL and he didn’t participate in the whole season. KKR bought Starc for 9.4 CR but didn’t get the services of the left-arm pacer.
4. Chris Lynn – 9.6 CR
In the same auction, Kolkata Knight Riders went for another overseas player Chris Lynn. Lynn had been with them till 2017 but they had to release him ahead of the 2018 Auction. Kolkata Knight Riders went all out for Lynn as they bought him for 9.6 CR.
At one-point KKR had spent more than half of their budget and had Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Starc, and Andre Russell in their squad. KKR backed him for two years but then released Lynn ahead of the 2020 IPL Auction.
3. Yusuf Pathan – 9.66 CR
Kolkata Knight Riders planned to revamp their whole squad in 2011 and for that, they needed some strong Indian players. They had a couple of names in mind and one of them was Yusuf Pathan. The auction was in US dollars in 2011 and Pathan went for 2.1 Million Dollars in that auction.
He was the second-highest-paid player in that auction as he got 2.1 Million Dollars which got converted to 9.66 CR. Pathan had a great time at KKR as he was an integral part of the two titles in 2012 and 2014.
2. Gautam Gambhir – 11.04 CR
In the 2011 Auction, Gautam Gambhir was the first name out of the bag and Mumbai Indians and Pune Warriors India were in a bidding war for the Indian opener. Suddenly Kolkata Knight Riders joined in and got him for a whopping 2.4 Million Dollars.
The first player out of the bag turned out to be the most expensive player in that auction as he got 11.04 CR. It turned out to be a great buy for KKR as Gambhir led them to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014.
1. Pat Cummins – 15.5 CR
The Australian pacer was the stand-out player in the last Auction and many franchises were going to bid for him heavily. Kolkata Knight Riders once again jumped in late and broke the bank as they got Pat Cummins for 15.5 CR.
He was the most expensive overseas player in the history of the IPL before RR broke that record for Morris in this year’s auction. He didn’t have a great IPL in 2020 but KKR retained him at that price for the upcoming IPL season.
