Kolkata Knight Riders will be one of the 8 teams competing this year in the top League of the Cricketing World, Indian Premier League 2021 edition. With 2 IPL Trophies in their cabinet, they will surely begin the IPL 14th edition as one of the favorites.
KKR Squad
KKR have got 25 talented players in their squad for the 2021 IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders squad has the potential to repeat what happened in 2012 and 2014 when they reached the podium.
Although KKR last won the IPL Trophy 7 years back but their team on paper is surely strong enough to make them a contender IPL 2021 trophy this year.
Kolkata Knight Riders Full Squad
Maintaining core of their squad by retaining 17 players from the who represented them in last edition of IPL that shows how confident they are about their players despite ranked 5th during IPL 13th edition.
Kolkata Knight Riders team squad comprises of top international players from England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh with local talent both who have represented India and those too who are aspiring to do so.
Kolkata Knight Riders Player List
The Purple and Gold Knights of #IPL2021 💜💛#ToofaniFans, how excited are you for the new season?#KKR #HaiTaiyaar #Squad2021 pic.twitter.com/ZBOMtR2rQf
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) February 19, 2021
Eoin Morgan, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pat Cummins, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Rahul Triphati, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Tim Seifert, Shakib-al-Hasan, Vaibhav Arora, Sheldon Jackson, Pawan Negi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ben Cutting, Harbhajan Singh and Karun Nair.
KKR Replacement Players 2021
Tim Southee is Kolkata Knight Riders replacement for Pat Cummins who opts out of second phase of IPL 2021 taking place in UAE.
Kolkata Knight Riders Auction Details
KKR entered the 2021 IPL Auction with an available budget of 10.75 Crores, out of which they only spent 7.5 crores on the auction day. They purchased 8 new players for their 2021 IPL stint.
The most expensive player for Kolkata during the auction is Shakib-al-Hasan who was purchased for 3.2 crores. They also opted for veteran off spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all rounder Ben Cutting.
Kolkata Knight Riders Player with Price
- Shakib Al Hasan – Rs. 3.2 crore
- Harbhajan Singh – Rs. 2 crore
- Ben Cutting – Rs. 75 lakh
- Karun Nair – Rs. 50 lakh
- Pawan Negi – Rs. 50 lakh
- Venkatesh Iyer – Rs. 20 lakh
- Sheldon Jackson – Rs. 20 lakh
- Vaibhav Arora – Rs. 20 lakh
Kolkata Knight Riders Released Players
While entering the new season of the Indian Premiere League, Kolkata bid farewell to 6 of their players from IPL 14th edition. These six players consisted of 3 locals and 3 foreigners. The locals released were: M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik and Siddhesh Lad. Meanwhile, Chris Green, Tom Banton and Harry Gurney were the 3 foreigners who got released by KKR in IPL 2021.
Kolkata Knight Riders Retained Players List
- M Siddharth
- Nikhil Naik
- Siddhesh Lad
- Chris Green
- Tom Banton
- Harry Gurney
Kolkata Knight Riders Retained Players
KKR is considered to be a franchise having good think tank that made good tactical choices. KKR retained 17 players before heading into the auction of IPL 2021. The obvious retentions were of the star players like Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. All these stars are renowned in World Cricket and have loads of experience too.
Retaining 17 out of 23 players suggest the consistency and planning of KKR management as they have already invested a lot in local talent and its for time for them to deliver goods.
Complete list of the retained players of Kolkata Knight Riders is given below:
- Eoin Morgan
- Andre Russelll
- Dinesh Karthik
- Kamlesh Nagarkoti
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Lockie Ferguson
- Nitish Rana
- Rinku Singh
- Prasidh Krishna
- Sandeep Warrier
- Shivam Mavi
- Sunil Narine
- Shubman GillÂ
Pat Cummins(Opt out of IPL 2021 UAE phase)- Rahul Tripathi
- Tim Seifert
- Varun Chakravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders New Players
8 New Players made their way in the Kolkata Knight Riders Squad for IPL 2021. Bangladesh’s Shakib-al-Hasan was the most expensive player bought by KKR in the auction of IPL 2021. Shakib was also part of the Kolkata’s Squad when they won IPL in 2012 as well as 2014. The veteran spin bowler Harbhajan Singh was purchased for his base price in the KKR Squad. Ben Cutting, Pawan Negi and Venkatesh Iyer were the 3 new all-rounders in the side.
Karun Nair was purchased in the auction too by the KKR to strengthen their batting. 34 year old wicket keeper batsman Sheldon Jackson was a surprise inclusion although he has a first class average of 49 in Indian domestic cricket. Young quick from Himachal Pradesh Vaibhav Arora is the rising star as he has impressed many during his short career so far.
Kolkata Knight Riders New Players List
- Shakib-al-Hasan
- Harbhajan Singh
- Ben Cutting
- Pawan Negi
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Karun Nair
- Sheldon Jackson
- Vaibhav Arora
- Tim Southee (Replacement of Pat Cummins for UAE phase)
Kolkata Knight Riders Overseas Players for IPL 2021
Overseas Players of Kolkata Knight Riders are from England, New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh and West Indies. Most of their overseas players have played for them before in the IPL.
Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Andre Russelll, Sunil Naraine and Lockie Fergusan will continue their stint for KKR whereas Shakib-al-Hassan will make a comeback to KKR during IPL 2021. Tim Seifert and Pat Cummins are slated in as new guys in KKR unit for IPL 2021.
Kolkata Knight Riders Foreign Players List
- English Cricketers in IPL are Eoin Morgan
- Lockie Ferguson, Tim Siefert & Tim Southee are players from New Zealand in KKR.
Pat Cummins& Ben Cutting are two are two Australians in IPL- Andre Russell & Sunil Narine are from West Indies to represent KKR.
- Shakib-al-Hasan is From Bangladesh to play in IPL.
Kolkata Knight Riders Team Details
Kolkata Knight Riders Captain
KKR will be led by Eoin Morgan. Morgan took over the charge of the ship last year when he replaced Dinesh Karthik after a poor display from Kolkata Knight Riders during early phase of IPL 13th edition.
So far in the 7 matches that he has led the side, Kolkata have managed to win just 2 and lost 4 with one tie as well. Although the records are not satisfactory, but Morgan is a World T20 Finalist captain as well as a World Cup winning captain who made KKR to let him does manage the helm.
Kolkata Knight Riders Batsmen
Kolkata have got plenty of fire power in their batting with the likes of Eoin Morgan, Nitish Rana, Karun Nair. Young Indian flag bearers like Shubman Gill will also look to put his claims for ICC World T20 by putting good show for KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders Batsman List
- Eoin Morgan
- Nitish Rana
- Karun Nair
- Rahul Triphati
- Rinku Singh
- Shubman Gill
Kolkata Knight Riders Bowlers
Pat Cummins will lead the attack for KKR as he did last time whereas New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and highly rated Kamlesh Nagarkoti are as good as the leader.
Spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine and Harbhajan Singh will use their skills to tangle the opposition with spinning web.
Kolkata Knight Riders Bowlers List
Pat Cummins- Prasidh Krishna
- Kamlesh Nagarkoti
- Lockie Ferguson
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Harbhajan Singh
- Vaibhav Arora
- Sandeep Warrier
- Sunil Narine
- Tim Southee
Kolkata Knight Riders All Rounders
With the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in their side, Kolkata really have a strong pool of all rounders for IPL 2021. Presence of Shakib-al-Hassan will further boost the chances as he is one of the top rated all rounder in world cricket.
Ben Cutting is as explosive with the bat as Andre Russel when it come to late order fireworks.
Kolkata Knight Riders All Rounders List
- Andre Russell
- Sunil Narine
- Shivam Mavi
- Shakib-al-Hasan
- Pawan Negi
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Ben Cutting
Kolkata Knight Riders Wicket Keepers
KKR have included three wicket keepers in their squad for IPL 2021. Dinesh Karthik will continue to keep behind the wickets as usual, while the Kiwi Tim Seifert is also in the squad as back-up although he can play as an specialist batsman too.
Sheldon Jackson may find it hard to find a place in playing 11.
Kolkata Knight Riders Owners
KKR is owned by Famous Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Indian business giant Mehta group Jay Mehta Collectively.
Kolkata Knight Riders Captain List
So far KKR have been led by 6 captains. Gautham Gambhir has the longest stint as a captain as he led them for 6 years and he is most successful too.
| Player | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% |
| Saurav Ganguly (IND) | 2008-2010 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 48.14 |
| Brendon Mcullum (NZ) | 2009-2009 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 26.92 |
| Gautam Gambhir (IND) | 2011-2017 | 122 | 69 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 57.43 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 2011-2011 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Dinesh Karthik (IND) | 2018-2020 | 37 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 52.70 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 2020-2021 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 35.71 |
KKR Records
In terms of titles won, KKR is the third best side in IPL History. Their Record against other teams is given as:
| Opposition | Matches | Won | Lost | No Result |
| Chennai Super Kings | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 |
| Delhi Capitals | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 |
| Deccan Chargers | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Gujarat Lions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 27 | 9 | 18 | 0 |
| Kochi Tuskers Kerala | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mumbai Indians | 27 | 21 | 6 | 0 |
| Pune Warriors India | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Rising Pune Supergiants | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
KKR Coaching and Supporting Staff
Kolkata Knight Riders Head Coach
Former Captain and Opener of KKR, Brendon Mcullum is currently the head coach of the franchise. Mccullum is set to continue his job which he took over in 2019 and on both the events 2019 & 2020 he ended on 5th place.
Kolkata Knight Riders Bowling Coach
Brendon Mccullum’s Country-mate, Kyle Mills is the bowling coach of KKR. Kyle Mills was one of the limited overs specialists during his playing days.
KKR Fielding Coach
Former England wicket keeper James Foster who was appointed as fielding coach of KKR last year will continue his role this year as well.
KKR Mentor
Australian all-rounder David Hussey continues to perform the duties of mentor of Kolkata. Hussey is one of the limited over specialist and has represented different teams in various T20 franchise cricket leagues.
| Designation | Name |
| Owner | Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta |
| Team Manager | Wayne Bentley |
| Direct of Cricket Operations | Wenky Mysore |
| Head Coach | Brendon Mccullum (NZ) |
| Bowling Coach | Kyle Mills (NZ) |
| Mentor | David Hussey (Aus) |
| Fielding Coach | James Foster (Eng) |
| Talent Scouts | AR Srikanth |
Kolkata Knight Riders Schedule
As per the schedule of IPL 2021 announced by BCCI KKR will kick-off their IPL 2021 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kolkata Knight Riders next match will be against Mumbai Indians.
KKR fixtures for IPL 2021 include 2 matches against every opponent before the final showdown.
| Match # | Date | Day | Team vs Team | Time (IST) | Venue |
| 3 | Apr-11 | Sunday | SRH VS KKR | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| 5 | Apr-13 | Tuesday | KKR VS MI | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| 10 | Apr-18 | Sunday | RCB VS KKR | 3:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| 15 | Apr-21 | Wednesday | KKR VS CSK | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| 18 | Apr-24 | Saturday | RR VS KKR | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| 21 | Apr-26 | Monday | PK VS KKR | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| 25 | Apr-29 | Thursday | DC VS KKR | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| 30 | May-03 | Monday | KKR VS RCB | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| 35 | May-08 | Saturday | KKR VS DC | 3.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| 39 | May-10 | Monday | MI VS KKR | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| 41 | May-12 | Wednesday | CSK VS KKR | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| 45 | May-15 | Saturday | KKR VS PBKS | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| 49 | May-18 | Tuesday | KKR VS RR | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| 52 | May-21 | Friday | KKR VS SRH | 3.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
Kolkata Knight Riders Home Ground
Kolkata Knight Riders Home Ground is the iconic Eden Gardens Kolkata Stadium. It has hosted many big matches including World Cup finals as well and it is the third biggest Stadium of the world.
As per BCCI no team will matches at their home ground this year so KKR fans will not able to see their favorite cricketers live.
