Cameron Green and Matheesha Pathirana were their most expensive buys.
The KKR IPL 2026 squad for the new season was finalised after the mini auction. Kolkata Knight Riders entered the auction with the biggest purse of INR 64.30 crore and had 13 slots to fill, having retained only 12 players earlier.
After releasing key players like Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell on the retention deadline, KKR used their purse well and built a competitive squad with some major and expensive buys. The arrivals of Cameron Green and Matheesha Pathirana have made the team look strong on paper.
Now, let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of the KKR IPL 2026 squad and their strongest playing XI.
KKR IPL 2026 squad includes several big signings as they spent big on a few key players while also adding depth to the squad. Cameron Green was their most expensive buy at INR 25.20 crore, followed by Matheesha Pathirana for INR 18 crore.
Despite some strong signings, Kolkata Knight Riders missed the chance to bring in a proven overseas wicketkeeper-batter at the top of the order. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are attacking players, but they lack consistency. The middle order also looks thin after missing out on re-signing Venkatesh Iyer. The Knight Riders also spent heavily on pace but did not add a complete all-phase overseas fast bowler, which could have balanced the attack better.
Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Umran Malik, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh Dahiya, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Mustafizur Rahman, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, and Akash Deep.
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The “Green” Factor: Cameron Green is a three-dimensional player. He can play with high intent in the top or middle order and can bowl in the middle overs, offering the captain great flexibility.
Death bowling strength: The addition of Matheesha Pathirana gives the team a specialist for the death overs, an area where they lacked last season.
Elite spin duo: With Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, the team has eight overs of mystery spin bowling that is hard to score off. They can control the middle overs and stop the flow of runs, giving the team a big advantage.
Huge Reliance on Seifert in the powerplay: The top order could face pressure if Tim Seifert does not fire and gets out early, as Ajinkya Rahane is expected to play an anchor role. Also, Seifert has only played three matches in the IPL before.
Weak middle order: Only Rinku Singh is an experienced and reliable batter. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, and Ramandeep Singh are less experienced, which could be a problem for them if the top order fails to deliver.
Lack of RHB-LHB combination: The top four are all right-handed batters, which reduces variety in the batting lineup. The only left-handed batter in their top six will be Rinku Singh.
Pace backup concern: Beyond Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora, the team lacks strong pace depth. Both Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi have fitness issues, leaving few reliable options in the squad. In the overseas group, Mustafizur Rahman is the only specialist fast bowler who can be used as a backup for Pathirana.
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