Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced that they have signed Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement for England’s Gus Atkinson, who withdrew from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 due to workload management. Chameera will join KKR at a reserve price of Rs 50 lakh, according to a statement released by the IPL organizers on Monday.
Chameera, 31, is a right-arm pacer who can bowl at speeds of over 140 kmph. He has played 29 T20 internationals for Sri Lanka, taking 30 wickets at an average of 24.13 and an economy rate of 8.06. He has also featured in 11 Tests and 22 ODIs for his country, picking up 48 and 33 wickets, respectively.
Chameera has previous experience playing in the IPL, having been part of the Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Lucknow Super Giants in past editions. He was most recently seen in action for Lucknow in the 2022 season, where he scalped nine wickets from 12 matches at an average of 32.55 and an economy rate of 8.68.
Chameera will add depth and variety to KKR’s bowling attack, which already boasts the likes of Michelle Starc and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. KKR will hope that Chameera can provide them with some early breakthroughs and contain the opposition batsmen in the death overs.
Read also:Shamar Joseph Joins Lucknow Super Giants as Mark Wood’s Replacement 2024
KKR has signed players for the IPL 2024
KS Bharat (WK-Batsman, INR 50 lakhs)
Chetan Sakaria (bowler, INR 50 lakhs)
Mitchell Starc (Bowler, INR 24.75 crore)
Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Batsman, INR 20 lakhs)
Ramandeep Singh (all-rounder, INR 20 lakh)
Sherfane Rutherford (Batsman, INR 1.50 crore)
Manish Pandey (batsman, INR 50 lakhs)
Mujeeb Rahman (bowler, INR 2 crore)
Dushmantha Chameera (bowler, INR 50 lakh)
Sakib Hussain (Bowler, INR 20 lakhs)
These players were either bought at the auction or signed as replacements for the IPL 2024 season. KKR have retained 13 players, including captain Shreyas Iyer, star all-rounder Andre Russell, and spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
KKR released players for IPL 2024
Shakib al-Hasan
Litton Das
Aarya Desai
David Wiese
Narayan Jagadeesan
Mandeep Singh
Kulwant Khejroliya
Shardul Thakur
Lockie Ferguson
Umesh Yadav
Tim Southee
Johnson Charles
These players were either traded, released, or not retained by KKR ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. KKR retained 13 players, including captain Nitish Rana, star all-rounder Andre Russell, and spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
KKR Squad 2024
| Player Name | Role | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Shreyas Iyer © | Top order Batter | Retained |
| Nitish Rana | Middle order Batter | Retained |
| Rinku Singh | Middle order Batter | Retained |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Wicketkeeper Batter | Retained |
| K.S Bharat | Wicketkeeper Batter | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Manish Pandey | Top order Batter | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Jason Roy | Opening Batter | INR 2 Crore |
| Sherfane Rutherford | Middle order Batter | INR 1.50 Crore |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi | Batsman | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Venkatesh Iyer | Allrounder | Retained |
| Sunil Narine | Bowling Allrounder | Retained |
| Anukul Roy | Allrounder | Retained |
| Andre Russell | Allrounder | Retained |
| Ramandeep Singh | Allrounder | INR 20 Lakhs |
| Vaibhav Arora | Bowler | Retained |
| Varun Chakravarthy | Bowler | Retained |
| Harshit Rana | Bowler | Retained |
| Suyash Sharma | Bowler | Retained |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Bowler | INR 2 Crore |
| Gus Atkinson | Bowler | Retained |
| Chetan Sakariya | Bowler | INR 50 Lakhs |
| Mitchell Starc | Bowler | INR 24.75 Crore |
| Dushmantha Chameera | Bowler | INR 50 Lakh |
| Sakib Hussain | Bowler | INR 20 Lakhs |
KKR Probable playing XI in IPL 2024
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk): The Afghan wicketkeeper-batter is an explosive opener who can take on any bowling attack. He scored 227 runs in 10 matches for KKR in the IPL 2023 at a strike rate of 156.161.
Jason Roy: The England batter is one of the most destructive players in T20 cricket. He has scored over 2000 runs in 91 T20 internationals at an average of 24.76 and a strike rate of 143.822. He was bought by KKR for INR 2 crore in the IPL 2024 auction.
Venkatesh Iyer: The all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh impressed everyone with his batting and bowling skills in the IPL 2023. He scored 370 runs in 14 matches at an average of 41.11 and a strike rate of 142.30. He also took 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.381.
Shreyas Iyer ©: The captain of KKR is one of the most consistent and elegant batters in the IPL. He scored 401 runs in the 2022 edition of the tournament, averaging 31 at a strike rate of 134. He missed the IPL 2023 season due to a shoulder injury but is expected to be fully fit for IPL 2024.
Nitish Rana, the left-handed batter from Delhi, is a versatile player who can bat at any position in the top order. He scored 420 runs in 14 matches for KKR in the IPL 2023 at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 138.811. He also captained the side in the absence of Shreyas Iyer and led them to four wins in seven games.
Rinku Singh: The youngster from Uttar Pradesh is a hard-hitting middle-order batter who can also bowl some handy off-spin. He scored 202 runs in 10 matches for KKR in the IPL 2023 at an average of 28.85 and a strike rate of 144.281. He also took four wickets at an economy rate of 7.661.
Andre Russell: The West Indian all-rounder is one of the most valuable players in the IPL. He can change the course of the game with his power-hitting and fast bowling. He scored 312 runs in 10 matches for KKR in the IPL 2023 at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 182.55. He also took 14 wickets at an average of 21.07 and an economy rate of 9.281.
Sunil Narine: The mystery spinner from Trinidad and Tobago is a key weapon for KKR in the IPL. He can bowl in the powerplay and the death overs, and he can also open the batting if needed. He took 16 wickets in 14 matches for KKR in the IPL 2023 at an average of 21.50 and an economy rate of 7.06. He also scored 121 runs at a strike rate of 146.341.
Mitchell Starc: The Australian left-arm pacer is one of the best bowlers in the world. He can swing the ball at high speeds, as well as bowl yorkers and bouncers at will. He has taken 50 wickets in 35 T20 internationals for Australia at an average of 19.18 and an economy rate of 6.832. He was bought by KKR for a record-breaking INR 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction.
Chetan Sakariya: The young left-arm pacer from Saurashtra is a promising talent who impressed everyone with his performance in the IPL 2023. He took 12 wickets in 11 matches for the Rajasthan Royals at an average of 25.58 and an economy rate of 8.221. He was bought by KKR for INR 50 lakh in the IPL 2024 auction.
Varun Chakravarthy: The mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu is one of the most effective bowlers in the IPL. He can bowl in any situation and trouble the best of batters with his variations. He took 17 wickets in 14 matches for KKR in the IPL 2023 at an average of 20.05 and an economy rate of 7.321. He also made his T20 international debut for India in 2021.
This is the probable playing XI for KKR in IPL 2024.
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