Former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harbhajan Singh said that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face difficulties in leaving or retaining players ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction which is scheduled to take place next month.
KKR will enter the upcoming edition of IPL as defending champions. The Kolkata-based franchise lifted their third title under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer after thumping Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in IPL 2024.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Star Sports, Harbhajan praised the Kolkata-based franchise and said that they dominated the previous season. The former cricketer also named the players who should be retained for the upcoming season of the T20 tournament.
"KKR dominated the entire season, so it will be difficult for them to leave or retain anyone. But it's a matter of retention, so you only have limited numbers that you can retain. If I want to see or if I have to choose my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I think Shreyas Iyer will be there, Phil Salt will be there, Narine will be there, Andre Russell will be there, Rinku Singh will be there. I will definitely want to see Rinku Singh. He should be the 5th player to be retained. And if we talk about one more player, who is the last player to be retained? It could be Ramandeep Singh.He is an uncapped player. I think he should be retained. He played very well last year and I have seen his performance in domestic cricket this year as well. So I think this 6th player, Knight Rider, will be retained," Harbhajan was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.
In September, the Kolkata-based franchise announced Dwayne Bravo as its new mentor, taking over from Gautam Gambhir. Bravo, a former West Indies all-rounder, retired from international cricket in 2021 and concluded his IPL career last year. Since then, he has focused on coaching, working with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Afghanistan.
This will mark Bravo's second coaching role in the IPL. He joined CSK in 2011, retired from the team in 2022, and returned in 2023 as the bowling coach for the five-time champions.
