KKR bowling coach discusses IPL auctions, reveals which players Kolkata 'need to pick'

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Bharat Arun said that going into the IPL 2022 auctions, his team is looking for bowlers, who are quick to adapt to the playing conditions. Back in 2021, the Knights tantalisingly got close to winning their third Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. But fate had other plans for them.

Arriving in the finals with fresh hopes to clinch the coveted trophy, KKR, however, disappointingly lost to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after MS Dhoni and Co. put up a massive score on the board. While the KKR bowlers did an excellent job throughout the tournament, they faced the wrath of the CSK batters in the final held at the Dubai International Stadium.

The venue for the forthcoming edition is yet to be decided and less than a fortnight remains for the mega auction, which is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.

Arun, also a former Team India bowling coach, reckoned that having seen bowlers ply their trade across the world, it becomes fairly simple to gauge their prowess. "You need to pick players who can adapt to different conditions. Even before the pandemic, when you picked bowlers for home conditions, you still needed them to play seven away games in the IPL," Arun was quoted as saying in kkr.in.

IPL 2022: Bharat Arun hopes his international experience can help Kolkata Knight Riders make right picks

"Having watched most of the top players around the world up close, you have a fair idea as to what they can do. And it helps you to prepare and take your calls better, and also plan more effectively during the matches. I sincerely think so, because even though a lot of people think cricket is inclined towards the batsman, I would look at it differently. I would say that therein lies an opportunity for me as a bowler to excel. Yes, there are limitations for bowlers. But again, they know that if they execute, they have a chance to be a hero," Arun added.

Prior to the mega auction, the Men in Gold and Purple have retained Sunil Narine (INR 6 crore), Andre Russell (INR 12 crore), Venkatesh Iyer (INR 8 crore) and Varun Chakravarthy (INR 8 crore).

After retaining four players, the Knights are left with a purse of INR 48 crores. The mega auction is set to witness 590 players going under the hammer. After they released Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik, it also remains to be seen who becomes the new KKR skipper.

Image: PTI