Three time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are set to go into the auction room with the purse among all 10 teams, after reducing their squad ti just 12 players.
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Just a year after the mega auction, they will start the auction with a whopping amount of ₹64.3 crore, with multiple areas to work on.
As they look for a rebuild, we take a look at the potential KKR buys in IPL 2026 mini-auction.
KKR auction purse and squad gaps for IPL 2026
Following the high-profile player releases, including Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, KKR have ₹64.3 crore left in their purse.
A high number of player releases will mean they have to fix up in a number of spots in their squad. Their notable worries will be a wicketkeeper (preferably an opener), a domestic and an overseas opener, an Indian middle-order batter, an overseas all-rounder, an Indian and an overseas pacer.
Wicketkeeper for KKR:
Josh Inglis: One of the most shocking releases ahead of the auction was of Josh Inglis by the Punjab Kings. While his availability for the full season is under the scanner, he emerges as a top candidate for them to fix the wicketkeeping as well as the opening spot.
Devon Conway: The former CSK star did not enjoy a great 2025 season. He can be a quality option at the top of the order for KKR, with an IPL strike rate of 139.71, where he can certainly work.
Jonny Bairstow: Over the years, Bairstow has shown good consistency in his IPL stints with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and played impactful knocks for the Mumbai Indians last season. As an experienced IPL wicketkeeper-batter, he is another player that KKR can target.
Tim Seifert: Seifert will certainly not be their best bet as a wicketkeeper batter for the next season. However, with 6698 T20 runs in 269 innings, he can be a good backup option, if required.
Openers for KKR:
KKR can choose from a variety of openers who have been released into the auction by various teams. While some can provide them a long-term future, as youngster with high potential, some can fix their team for a short term, with 2 seasons left for the mega auction.
Here are the best opener choices, alongside the aforementioned wicketkeepers, who can open as well.
- Faf du Plessis
- Rachin Ravindra
- Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Bevon Jacobs
Indian middle-order batters for KKR:
Venkatesh Iyer: Considering his high bid from the last IPL, his release is an indication that the batter is most likely to be bought back by the franchise. Over the past few years, he has been a consistent performer for them and should ideally return to Kolkata.
Overseas all-rounder for KKR:
Cameron Green: Australia's star player is the first name on most teams' list as a target, who can provide quality in both batting and bowling. Additionally, they will be on a lookout for an Andre Russell replacement.
Considering KKR's high purse, it is highly likely that he will be heading to the Knight Riders' camp in 2026.
Indian fast bowler for KKR:
KKR already have good Indian bowlers in Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora and Umran Malik, to provide help to the deadly spinners.
However, they will like to add another Indian pacer in the mix to have quality in the backups. As of now, following are the best-suited options in the auctions for them:
- Mohit Sharma
- Akash Deep
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