Indian Premier League

Knight Riders shortlist 6 ICL players

Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan said the beleaguered IPL outfit is eyeing at least six players who have snapped ties with the ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League and are eligible to return to mainstream fold.

Soon after BCCI granted amnesty to 79 current cricketers, Buchanan said it was an opportunity for KKR to rope in some of the players to revive their fortune in the IPL.

“We’ve shortlisted about half a dozen Indian batsmen in the ICL. Now we’re just waiting to hear back from the IPL as to how they will approach this issue of letting players in – if there will be a draft or an open market,” Buchanan said. The Australian said he always felt KKR lacked local talents and it hurt them badly in IPL II, in which they finished at the bottom.

“I said right from the outset that we were short of quality Indian top-order batsmen and that is still the case. The ICL has released quite a few players in the last little while. There are quite a lot of good, young Indian batsmen among them and I think that is a situation that could work well for KKR,” Buchanan said.

Incidentally, Buchanan’s own future does not look secure with the franchise amid reports that owner Shah Rukh Khan might sack the Australian after the team’s dismal show in IPL II.

Tags: bcci, ICL, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders