Ahead of IPL 2023, KKR have suffered a major blow as they have lost their skipper Shreyas Iyer, who is going through a back surgery due to which, he will not be able to participate in the IPL and ICC World Test Championship finals.
But, before the inauguration formalities of the league, KKR will need to find a replacement for the skipper and a batter’s spot. Although, it is going to be tough for the team to find a replacement for their star-batter.
There are many players who went unsold in the IPL 2023 auction and justify the ability to fill the spot in KKR’s squad. Following are the three key players who can replace Shreyas Iyer:
Karun Nair: Karun Nair can become the first pick by the franchise who can replace Iyer in the squad. Karun Nair went unsold in the auction with a base price of Rs. 50 lakh. The reason why KKR would pick him is that, he is an experienced batsman and has represented India in 6 Tests and 2 ODIs. He has played 76 matches so far, and scored 1171 runs with an average of 23.75.
Sachin Baby: Sachin Baby can become the second option for KKR as he went unsold in IPL 2023 auction with his base price of Rs. 20 lakh. The left-handed batter has been part of the IPL since 2013, and has played for the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has played 19 games in the IPL so far, in which he has score 144 runs with an average of 16.0
Abhimanyu Easwaran: Easwaran, who went unsold at auction with a price of Rs. 20 lakh, is a top order batter who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket. He hasn’t had any experience of IPL but has a lot of experience and was also picked for the Indian national cricket team.