The IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) didn’t have a delightful campaign in 2025 and their season was marred with inconsistency. Ahead of next season, in this article, we take a look at KKR Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
The Kolkata Knight Riders had their decade long wait for the IPL trophy ended in 2024 where they absolutely dominated the tournament. But due to the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, the franchise had to go through a reset and ended-up finishing only 8th in the points table.
There are lots of mistakes to be corrected for the Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) owned team. It is believed that KKR might go into the IPL 2026 auction with the most money available to spend. Let’s find out KKR Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
Table of Contents
KKR Retained Players List IPL 2026
Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.
KKR Released Players List 2026 IPL
Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Luvnith Sisodia, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Venkatesh Iyer, Mayank Markande.
KKR Squad Analysis
Strength
- The Kolkata Knight Riders’ biggest strength is undoubtedly the spin bowlers with IPL’s all time greatest Sunil Narine and currently world’s number 1 T20 bowler in the world Varun Chakravarthy.
- Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora are two solid Indian pace bowling options they have. The Knights also have a solid lower middle-order with the likes of Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh.
- KKR also have two solid youngsters in the form of Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Luvnith Sisodia to build the team around.
Areas to Improve
- There are lots of areas of concern for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Knights are in search of a captain with Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy not leaving a lasting impression, although he was the best batter for the side in the IPL 2025.
- Wicketkeepers will be one of their priorities in the IPL 2026 auction with both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock failing to impress last season.
- Pace bowling department also needs upgrade for the Knights, especially the overseas pacers with neither Spencer Johnson or Anrich Nortje able to impress the management.
KKR Target Players 2026
| PLAYER | ROLE |
| Cameron Green | All-rounder |
| Finn Allen | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Ben Duckett | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Jamie Smith | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Matheesha Pathirana | Pacer |
| Jacob Duffy | Pacer |
| Matt Henry | Pacer |
| Prithvi Shaw | Batter |
| Aryan Juyal | Batter |
| Tushar Raheja | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
Kolkata Knight Riders Overseas Target Players
Cameron Green
With the Kolkata Knight Riders set to free-up INR 23.75 crore by releasing Venkatesh Iyer, the Knight are expected to after probably the biggest name in the auction this year, the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who could add firepower at the top-order or middle-order. Green has been in scintillating form and missed-out on the IPL 2025 season due to injury but is set to enroll his name in the auction for IPL 2026 season. He has already shown his prowess in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Finn Allen
Kolkata Knight Riders need overseas opening batters after letting go of both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock. KKR could New Zealand’s Finn Allen for that position. Allen is a fantastic hitter of the ball and likes to play the aggresive brand of cricket. He most recently scored 333 runs in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 at a strike rate of 225.00.
Ben Duckett
With the wicketkeeper batters their priority, KKR might go for England’s opening batter Ben Duckett. Duckett is known for his aggressive intent while opening the inning. He is also a capable wicketkeeper. He has gained a reputation for his aggressive batting not just in T20 cricket but also in ODI and Test cricket.
Jamie Smith
Another English wicketkeeper batter who could be in KKR Target Players List IPL 2026 is Jamie Smith. Smith is a middle-order wicketkeeper batter who plays all format for the Three Lions. Smith is seeing a meteoric rise in international cricket. He is yet to get an IPL contract but the 2026 season could be his debut season in the IPL if he enrolls for the auction and there is no doubt that the Kolkata Knight Riders will be one of the teams interested.
Matheesha Pathirana
Sri Lankan yorker specialist Matheesha Pathirana will be a player who is on the radar for KKR in the IPL 2026 auction. The Sri Lankan slingy bowler was let go of by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). KKR is need of atleast one overseas pacer and Pathirana would be the star pick. However, we CSK to be right in the fight to buy him back cheap.
Jacob Duffy
The New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy could be a smart pick for KKR in the IPL 2026 auction. Duffy has established himself in the New Zealand team in formats of the game and is currently one of the most consistent bowlers. He has pace, swing and the ability to extract bounce from the surface. He is a clever bowler and hasn’t played in the IPL before and could be a bargain signing.
Matt Henry
Another Kiwi pace bowler who could be in KKR Target Players List IPL 2026 is Matt Henry. Unlike Duffy, Henry relies more on his pace. He has been a key bowler for the New Zealand cricket team over the years and has impressed in various T20 tournaments he has played in. But his experience in the IPL hasn’t been great, thus he could be available for his base price as a brilliant squad player.
KKR Target Players Indian
Prithvi Shaw
KKR might add India international opening batter to the KKR Target Players List 2026 IPL. Shaw is a aggressive style opening batter and KKR always wants to maximize the opening 6 overs. Which is where Prithvi would be excellent. However, the former India U19 World Cup winning captain has had a very tough time recently, so much so that he was unsold in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Yet he is very determined to make a comeback and KKR would be a great team for him.
Aryan Juyal
The Indian wicketkeeper batter Aryan Juyal would be another player KKR might target to strengthen their middle-order. Juyal has been surprisingly released by the Lucknow Super Giants. He is a very solid young middle-order batter who is also a wicketkeeper.
Tushar Raheja
Tamil Nadu’s Tushar Raheja would be a player who will be in the radar of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Raheja is a wicketkeeper batter and KKR is need of Indian wicketkeeper batter after letting of Luvnith Sisodia. The left-hand batter had a great Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2025 where he scored 488 runs in 9 matches.
KKR Probable XI after IPL 2026 Auction
Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Jacob Duffy, Vaibhav Arora.
Impact Player: Manish Pandey/ Umran Malik
NOTE: This is only our prediction and the actual KKR Target Players List 2026 IPL might be different.
