Gautam Gambhir lashes out at KKR selection, says squad doesn't have enough backup

Kolkata, Dec 20: Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has criticised the selection of players made by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

According to Gambhir, the squad selected by KKR doesn't have back up options in case any top-order batsman suffers from injury.

KKR paid a whopping amount of Rs15.5 crore for Australia pacer Pat Cummins, making him the most expensive foreign bid ever in IPL history. They also brought England's World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan for Rs5.25 crore.

"The positive part about Pat Cummins is that you can expect him to take wickets with the new ball because he has a good swing and he bowls at good pace, he might be a concern for the death overs but he has good bowling skills and he has been with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and has improved a lot since then," Gambhir said while speaking at Star Sports' Cricket Live show.

"I hope he plays all the matches and makes the team win 3-4 matches single handedly because he has been bought for such a high amount," he added.

"But if you look at the squad as a whole, there is no backup for Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine who is a one of a kind bowler. If Eoin Morgan suffers an injury, the team has no middle order overseas batsman.

According to the former KKR skipper, the Kolkata-based franchise could have gone for Mitchell Marsh or Marcus Stoinis to give depth to their squad.

"The management could have gone for a Mitchell Marsh or Marcus Stoinis who would have given more depth to the squad, so you have to hope all these players are there for the entire series," said Gambhir.

"If Pat Cummins suffers an injury, there is a replacement with Lockie Fergusan but with the top order there is no replacement for Kolkata Knight Riders," he added.