Coach Trevor Bayliss
Last season 7th
Best season Winners 2012
Secret weapon
Pat Cummins On the second day of the auctions, KKR picked up potentially the bargain buy of the tournament. The Australian is probably the most promising young fast bowler in the world today and they got him for US$166,500 (Dh611,566). The snag is that Cummins is injury-prone but, if he hits his straps during the tournament, he could be a real X-factor in a pretty strong squad.
Best Indian players
Gautam Gambhir He may be out of the Indian squad at the moment, but the captain remains one of the scene's most tenacious openers.
Yusuf Pathan He no longer has the aura he had two seasons ago, but on his day remains the most brutal hitter of a cricket ball in the league.
Piyush Chawla Another India reject who does not look as good as Amit Mishra, but Chawla will make up those small percentages in a game.
Foreign contingent
Chris Lynn (Australia) A young and already well-travelled batsman, Lynn has so far played only one IPL game across two seasons and for two franchises.
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) Now freed from Test cricket, the greatest modern-day all-rounder is the headline recruit this season.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) Bangladesh's best player is important on and off the field for the franchise.
Sunil Narine (West Indies) KKR's best recruit over the past two seasons. Much will again rest on him.
Morne Morkel (South Africa) Doubts may linger about how suited he is to this format in particular, but Morkel on fire is a weapon.
Pat Cummins (Australia) Fiercely quick, intelligent and young, Cummins could be the key buy for the franchise this season.
Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands) The only associate level player in the IPL and, on balance, probably the best from that level.
Andre Russell (West Indies) A handy, journeyman all-rounder, Russell may be low-key by nature, but not so by deed.
One thing you probably did not know about KKR
No KKR batsman has scored an IPL hundred since the first IPL game in 2008. That day, Brendon McCullum lit up the occasion with an outlandish 73-ball 158 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. That remains, according to a 2012 statistical analysis by ESPNcricinfo, the best innings in IPL history. The highest score since is 93 by Gautam Gambhir.
Paul Radley’s chocolate comparison
If they were chocolate they would be ... a Willy Wonka Bar wrapped in gold. They were supposed to be the dream ticket. Hasn’t happened yet. Charismatic owner, if a little eccentric.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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