Bengaluru, January 30: Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will start the Indian Premier League 2018 season with a fresh mind.
They have let go of their captain Gautam Gambhir, but roped in some familiar names during the IPL player auction in Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn.
IPL Auction Special Site | Full list of teams | Full list of unsold players
That apart, Knight Riders have shown faith in West Indies spinner Sunil Narine by retaining him. Another West Indies star, Andre Russell, will feature for KKR.
During the auction, they raised eyebrows by going big for injury-prone Australian all-rounder Lynn and finally acquired his services for Rs 9.60 crore ($150,000 approx).
Coached by Jacques Kallis, KKR, owned by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, eye a third Indian Premier League title when the league kicks off on April 7. Seasoned campaigner Dinesh Karthik will be leading the franchise in this year's season.
Time to rewrite the history books. 📖
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 7, 2018
Leader of the #Knights - Dinesh Karthik will look forward to make his mark and start his own legacy. 💪#KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/B03reMcgiM
(1 USD = 63.73486 INR) | $ to INR
Squad strength: 19
Overseas players: 7
Funds remaining: 0
Player/s retained:
Indians: none
Overseas: Sunil Narine (Rs 8.50 crore), Andre Russell (Rs 7 crore)
Bought at auction:
Indian: Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Vinay Kumar R, Rinku Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Apoorv Wankhade
Overseas: Chris Lynn, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson,Cameron Delport, Javon Searless
Costliest player/s for KKR this season: Chris Lynn - Rs 9.60 crore (at auction)