KKR was, as predicted, the smarter at the auction as they purchased Harbhajan Singh for Rs 2 crores. Bangladesh professional Shakib-al-Hasan also purchased by the franchise. 

Kolkata Knight Riders are better positioned than other teams and have not had to make several improvements to their side’s structure.

With the smallest purse, KKR headed into the bid as they held most of their players. But always with money in the tank, the franchise came out of the auction. At the auction they have had over the past few years, the franchise maintained a comparable approach.

Retained players: Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert

Players bought at auction: Shakib Al Hasan (3.2 crores), Harbhajan Singh (2 crores), Ben Cutting (75 lakhs), Karun Nair (50 lakh), Pawan Negi (50 lakhs), Sheldon Jackson (20 lakhs), Venkatesh Iyer (20 lakhs), Vaibhav Arora (20 lakhs)