Kolkata Knight Riders have won the Indian Premier League title twice, in 2012 and 2014. But since then, they couldn’t get their hands on the trophy. The last time they reached the IPL final was in 2021, when Eoin Morgan led them to the final of the tournament. But they lost to the Chennai Super Kings to end the season as runners-up. But the 2022 season was worse, as they couldn’t reach the playoffs either.
KKR finished at 7th place on the table with only six games out of 14. The franchise retained its core players ahead of the auction and traded in three players from other franchises. They traded Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson from the Gujarat Titans and Shardul Thakur from the Delhi Capitals. Skipper Shreyas Iyer will remain the highest-paid player for the franchise in the coming season. So let’s check who the most expensive player for Kolkata will be in the 2023 season.
5. Nitish Rana/Venkatesh Iyer/Varun Chakravarthy – INR 8 Crore
There are three KKR players who are getting paid a salary of INR 8 crore for the coming seasons. Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy will get the amount of Rs 8 crore from the franchises. KKR retained them ahead of the 2023 IPL auction, and they have also been part of the franchise for quite some time now. These three players are key members of the squad and will be seen in action in the IPL 2023.
4. Lockie Ferguson – INR 10 Crore
The Kiwi speedster, Lockie Ferguson, who was part of the IPL 2022 winning team, the Gujarat Titans was traded in the KKR setup ahead of the 2023 auction. The franchise signed him to a deal worth INR 10 crore, making him the fourth-costliest player for them in the 2023 season. Ferguson played for the KKR between 2019 and 2021. He took 21 wickets in 18 games for them during his previous stint with the franchise.
3. Shardul Thakur – INR 10.75 Crore
Star Indian pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur played his last season for the Delhi Capitals. He was picked up by the franchise for a price of INR 10.75, then traded to KKR for the same price. Thus, he will be the third-most expensive player for Kolkata in the 2023 season. Thakur took 15 wickets for DC last season in 14 games, scoring 120 runs with the bat as well.
2. Andre Russell – INR 12 Crore
Andre Russell is the backbone of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. He has been the most important member of the team for over a decade now. Russell joined the team in 2014, and since then, he has become a valuable member. Russell was retained for the 2022 season for a price of INR 12 crore for three seasons. Thus, he will be the second most expensive player for them in the coming season
1.Shreyas Iyer – INR 12.25 Crore
Shreyas Iyer made his IPL debut in 2015 for Delhi. He played for the same franchise until 2021. It was KKR that made the highest bid to acquire the star batter. He was given the captaincy duties as well, and he did a decent job for them. Iyer was signed for a price of INR 12.25 crore, and he is the highest paid cricketer for them going forward in the next season. He scored 401 runs in 14 games at an average of 30.85 for KKR in 2022.