IPL 2025 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Best Possible Squad List

Shreyas Iyer as the leader for the defending champions in our best possible squad players list for Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) for IPL 2025. 

The IPL 2024 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders did fantastically well last year under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer. Gautam, who had only joined KKR last year turned around the fortunes of the team with some aggressive decisions. Before Gambhir, KKR had finished seventh in 2023, but after Gambhir’s arrival, we could see some bold decisions including the one to send Narine as opener. It turned out Gold for KKR as he did brilliantly, and KKR were crowned as the champions.

But just when it felt KKR built a strong squad, the team now faces a big battle in the form of a Mega Auction. Mega Auctions are definitely good for the longevity of the tournament, but if at all any particular franchise dislikes it, it is the one that has a strong core. As we know, Mega Auction won’t allow a team to retain more than 4 to 6 players. In that scenario, a team will then have to buy the non-retained players in the Auction, the risk of losing will still be high. 

But what if KKR were to build a dream squad for IPL 2025 so that they are able to retain the trophy? Well, even if they won the IPL 2024 trophy, they did have a few gaps in the side that they would have liked to address. At the same, the team has solid 15-16 players that they would want back in the side. So, assuming all possibilities, let’s look at the best possible squad and players list that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) can build for IPL 2025.

IPL 2025 Dream Trophy Winning Squad List for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Starting with the players that KKR may be allowed to retain, there will be 4-6 players under the radar when it comes to player retentions for IPL 2025. Among the probables that KKR have, Captain Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and Harshit Rana shall be the players that KKR would like to retain without any comprise, and that includes the price at which they are retained. 

These six players were the true architect of KKR’s Trophy win in IPL 2024. Be it Captain Shreyas Iyer, All-rounder Andre Russell, Harshit Rana in the bowling department, or Sunil Narine as the Most Valuable player, all these players performed brilliantly in IPL 2024, and thus KKR would want to retain them at any cost. In case any of these players aren’t allowed to retain, KKR will for sure buy them at any cost in IPL 2025. 

Other than these six players, KKR will also want the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Phil Salt, Mitchell Starc, and Nitish Rana in the squad. Just like the above six players, the other four are valuable and potential players. While Nitish Rana didn’t feature in IPL 2024, he is still a quality player, and KKR can go big for these players in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Moreover, the likes of Phil Salt, Starc, and Chakravarthy are anyway good players, so going after them in the Auction will be KKR’s priority. 

KKR New Players for IPL 2025

Now, we have seen 10 players that KKR would want back at any cost for IPL 2025. Aside from these players, KKR will be interested in bringing back some potential players like Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Anukul Roy, Sherfane Rutherford, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, and Sakib Hussain. If we look at these players, they have been nurtured quite well in the last 2-3 years, so KKR would also have an eye on them in the Mega Auction. 

So, now that we have looked at 18 players from the existing squad, we will have to look at new players to fill the gap. Of the existing 18 players, there are six overseas players. So, the other two will mostly be backups. From the potential Overseas players for Backups, KKR can target Brandon King and Lockie Ferguson as backups to Phil Salt and Mitchell Starc respectively. King and Lockie can form good backups for both Salt and Starc. 

From the Indian players, KKR need an experienced Indian pacer and a solid finisher. If we look at the potential options, local boy Mukesh Kumar will be a good buy for the pace department to complement Harshit Rana. For the wicket-keeper backup, another local boy Abhishek Porel will be a great add, and for the finishing duties Abdul Samad and Vishnu Vinod can be seen. Thus, that will complete the dream squad list for KKR for IPL 2025. 

IPL 2025 Dream Squad and Players List for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Batters:

1. Angkrish Raghuvanshi
2. Brandon King (f)
3. Nitish Rana
4. Ramandeep Singh
5. Rinku Singh
6. Shreyas Iyer (c)

Wicket-keepers:

1. Abhishek Porel
2. Phil Salt (f)
3. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (f)
4. Vishnu Vinod

All-rounders:

1. Abdul Samad
2. Anukul Roy
3. Andre Russell (f)
4. Sherfane Rutherford (f)
5. Sunil Narine (f)
6. Venkatesh Iyer

Bowlers:

1. Harshit Rana
2. Lockie Ferguson (f)
3. Mukesh Kumar
4. Mitchell Starc (f)
5. Prayas Barman
6. Sakib Hussain
7. Suyash Sharma
8. Vaibhav Arora
9. Varun Chakravarthy

If we talk about the strongest playing 11 that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) can adopt for IPL 2025 based on the above squad, it will look quite similar to what they had in IPL 2024. Phil Salt and Sunil Narine should open the batting, and Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer should form the middle-order. The finishing duties should rely on Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Abdul Samad, and Ramandeep Singh. Whereas the primary bowling should rely on Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakravarthy. Whereas the Impact player shall be Mukesh Kumar. 

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