IPL 2019: Kolkata Knight Riders retains 13 players ahead of auction

A couple of days back, the Australian media reported that the franchise had released pacer Mitchell Starc by sending him just a text message.

Of the 13 players retained, KKR has maintained the core intact by keeping captain Dinesh Karthik (in helmet), Robin Uthappa (left), Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine. (File Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has retained 13 of its players from the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and released eight players, which includes Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Tom Curran, Cameron Delport and R. Vinay Kumar.

A couple of days back, the Australian media reported that the franchise had released pacer Mitchell Starc by sending him just a text message. But, KKR’s CEO, Venky Mysore, made it clear that the entire issue was picked up ‘out of context’. “We (KKR and Starc) have had a great relationship. Even when we picked him last year, not only was he over the moon, but he was also appreciative towards the confidence we had shown in him. He was extremely disappointed he couldn't come here for last year's IPL, and to be frank, so were we. It left a big hole in our line up. This time, when we had an exchange of messages, he was appreciative of where we were coming from. It was very cordial, and professional type of an exchange,” the CEO said.

Of the 13 players retained, KKR has maintained the core intact by keeping captain Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine. Mysore also admitted that its plan in this year’s auction — which is most likely to be held in Jaipur on December 17-18 — will be based on how many players are available. “ The auctions this year will depend heavily on the availability of the players, especially given that the World Cup is coming up. The Australian board (CA) has apparently said that their players appearing in the IPL and the ones appearing in the World Cup has to return (for national duty) no later than May 1. The English board (ECB) has apparently got a similar clause, so that will be an important consideration,” Mysore said.

READ: IPL 2019: Kings XI Punjab retains nine players, releases 12

RETAINED PLAYERS

1. Dinesh Karthik (captain/wicketkeeper)

2. Robin Uthappa

3. Chris Lynn

4. Andre Russell

5. Sunil Narine

6. Shubman Gill

7. Piyush Chawla

8. Kuldeep Yadav

9. Prasidh Krishna

10. Shivam Mavi

11. Nitish Rana

12. Rinku Singh

13. Kamlesh Nagarkoti

 

RELEASED PLAYERS

1. Mitchell Starc

2. Mitchell Johnson

3. Tom Curran

4. Cameron Delport

5. Ishank Jaggi

6. R Vinay Kumar

7. Apoorv Wankhede

8. Javon Searles