IPL 2023: From Rinku Singh to Lockie Ferguson – the Hits and Flops of Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR’s season was marred with inconsistency and despair. It was a significant struggle for them this year without their captain Shreyas Iyer, who was ruled out with an injury before the start of the tournament. Nitish Rana led the side in a valiant manner, but it was not enough for them.

In terms of the players, most of them have been underwhelming. The big-money buys or the marquee overseas players, all have been inconsistent and failed to carry on the intensity this season. Today we shall take a look at the hits and flops of KKR for this IPL 2023 season-

IPL 2023: KKR Hits

Here are three players who have lived up to the billing and beyond this season for KKR-

Jason Roy

Jason Roy was roped in by KKR as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan. But they may be keen to hold on to the Englishman next season as well. The 32-year-old has been the sole consistent batter for KKR this season.

With just 8 matches this season, Roy managed 285 runs for the Knight Riders. His arrival gave them some sort of stability and with two fifties and a decent average of 35.6, Roy was the sole force for KKR at the top of the order.

Season Rating: 7.5/10

Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh has emerged as one of the best batters in this IPL. The southpaw was brilliant for KKR and played some crucial knocks for them. It was Rinku’s first season where he played all matches, and the batter was sublime.

His fantastic hitting in the latter overs and his fighting mentality has earned him numerous plaudits. Rinku has been KKR’s saviour all season and his best came against Gujarat Titans, where he hit 5 sixes in the last five balls to earn KKR a huge win over the defending champions, which will surely be among the top five moments in IPL history.

He scored 474 runs this season at an average of a staggering 59.25, and a strike rate of 149.5. He is also the highest run scorer of the season among all the middle-order batters.

Season Rating: 9/10

Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy did extremely well for KKR this season. One of KKR’s long list of mystery bowlers, Varun stepped up for KKR amid Narine’s lack of form. He had a dismal last season, but came back in fantastic fashion for the Knight Riders.

He picked up 20 wickets in 11 matches and ended up as KKR’s highest wicket taker this season. Although he was a touch expensive, but the Tamil Nadu born was by far KKR’s best bowler this season.

Season Rating: 8/10

IPL 2023: KKR Flops

The KKR Hits list was just two names, but when it comes to the flops, the list can be massive. But we decided to name the biggest three flops of the season for them, who failed to meet any of the expectations that the franchise had in them-

Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson bowled 7.4 overs all season in this IPL 2023 season. He played 3 matches and conceded 96 runs, at an economy of 12.52 runs per over. He picked up only one wicket in the entire season. The Kiwi bowler was traded in for INR 10 crore by KKR and it now looks like a ludicrous deal.

The 31-year-old’s signing raised many eyebrows. And his performance has only heightened those.

Season Rating: 0/10

Sunil Narine

KKR’s prized asset Sunil Narine has had a dismal season this year. The mystery spinner is a stalwart in IPL, but his season this year was utterly underwhelming. We didn’t see the guile and lethality of Narine this season. He ended up with 11 wickets, but his impact was far less than in previous seasons.

Narine went at almost 8 runs per over this year, his worst-ever economy since his debut in 2012. The Caribbean spinner also was a feared batter in previous years, but could manage only 21 runs in 10 innings, at an average of 3.

He came back in the last two matches with 4 wickets, but it was a little too late for the Knight Riders.

Season Rating: 3/10

Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur was another of KKR’s traded-in players this season. He cost the franchise 10.25 crores, but hasn’t lived up to the billing.

Apart from his heroics with the bat against RCB in the 2nd match for KKR, he has been mostly underwhelming with the willow. Thakur managed 113 runs this season in 10 innings, 68 of those came against RCB in a match. He also could manage just 7 wickets with the ball and went at an economy of 10.5.

Season Rating: 2/10

Other Notable Flops for KKR in IPL 2023

Mandeep Singh, Narayan Jagadeesan, Andre Russell, Umesh Yadav