3 players KKR might use their Right to Match (RTM) card on

All rumours were put to rest as all the Indian Premier League franchises announced the name of players they have retained using the pre-auction retention option. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have retained the West Indies duo Sunil Narine and Andre Russell for 12.5 crores and 8.5 crores respectively. They have spent 21 crores out of the given 80 crore budget.

An IPL franchise can retain a maximum of five players using one of the two combinations - three pre-auction retentions and two Right to match(RTM) card or two pre-auction retentions and three Right to match (RTM) card.

Now that KKR have retained two players using pre-auction retentions, they have three Right to Match(RTM) cards in the upcoming auction.

Here is the list of three players KKR will try to retain using RTM card.

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#3 Gautam Gambhir

Strengths: Captain; Aggressive opening batsman

We can split Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL graph into two. One is the pre-Gambhir era, where they got knocked out of three successive IPL tournaments in the league stages. Second is the Gambhir era, where he captained them to two IPL titles and three knock-out qualifications in seven seasons. It's not an exaggeration to say that Gautam Gambhir changed KKR's fortune in the IPL with his aggressive captaining style.

The Delhi batsman is not just a captain, he is one of the greatest batters in IPL history. Gambhir is the 4th highest run scorer in the history of Indian Premier League - 4132 runs from his 148 games in the past ten years. Only David Warner has more IPL fifties than him.

The left-hander has reached the milestone for a record 35 times. The Delhi stalwart boasts a healthy average of 31.54 and a steady strike rate of 124.60 as well. Moreover, Gambhir averaged 41.50 in the last season and scored 498 runs. Considering his age of 36, he will come at a cheaper price in the auction.

#2 Manish Pandey

KKR need a captain if they miss out on Gambhir; Pandey fits the bill

Strengths: Clean-hitter of the ball; captaincy material

Manish Pandey is one of the most prominent names in Indian cricket at the moment. After joining Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008, he rose to fame in 2009 when he became the first Indian to score a hundred in the Indian Premier League. After spending three years with RCB, he played for Mumbai Indians and Sahara Pune Warriors.

Then, he joined Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping 1.7 crores in 2014 the IPL auction. Pandey won his first IPL title in his debut season with KKR and was the man of the match in the final. In that match, he scored a match-winning 94 runs against Kings XI Punjab.

In the last season, he has scored 396 runs at an average of 49.50 and a strike-rate of 128.57. Considering his form and age, KKR will prefer to use the Right-to-Match (RTM) option for his services as they need a leader in the middle order.

#1 Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep is the future of Indian cricket; KKR will not want to miss him at any cost

Strength: Wicket-taker

If there is one player which KKR don't want to miss out on in the IPL auction, it is Kuldeep Yadav. He rose to stardom after his impressive bowling performance in the Under-19 World Cup in 2012. Kuldeep frequently troubled batsmen with his chinaman bowling and ended the tournament with 14 wickets. He joined KKR in 2012 but failed to grab a spot in the starting XI until the 2014 Champions League.

After debuting for KKR in IPL in 2016, he has featured for India in all the formats of the game. Kuldeep bowled exceedingly well in last year's IPL as well. He took 12 wickets at an average of 28.33.

The year 2017 has been wonderful for the UP bowler has he claimed a memorable hat-trick against Australia in an ODI series at home.