New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta has said that Kolkata Knight Riders, despite staging a late fightback in IPL 2026, still need to address “a few obvious gaps” in their squad heading into next season.

Dasgupta’s comments come after KKR ended the season with a 40-run loss to Delhi Capitals at the Eden Gardens on Sunday evening. After a disastrous start to the season in which KKR lost their first six games, the three-time winners scripted a remarkable turnaround by winning six of their next seven matches.

But Rajasthan Royals beating Mumbai Indians by 30 runs meant KKR were knocked out of the competition and they ended their season with a defeat giving them a seventh-place finish on the points table.

“Kolkata Knight Riders had a difficult season in many ways, especially with the unavailability of several players during the first half of the tournament, particularly in the bowling department.

“That made it challenging for them to settle on the right balance early on. At the same time, some of their key players, including Rinku Singh and Ajinkya Rahane, took time to find rhythm, and the team struggled badly in the opening phase of the season.

“But to their credit, they staged a strong comeback later on and there were positives to take away, Varun Chakaravarthy returning strongly after missing a couple of games was one of them. Even so, there are still a few obvious gaps in the squad that they will need to address heading into next season,” Dasgupta said on JioHotstar.

Looking ahead to Qualifier 1 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, to be staged at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday, Dasgupta underlined the importance power-play deciding who will book their ticket to the final, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.

“The biggest battle in Qualifier 1 will be the Powerplay contest between Gujarat Titans’ top-order batters and the new-ball pairing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. In the previous game, Shubman Gill was outstanding against Hazlewood, while Bhuvneshwar picked up crucial wickets and created pressure early on.

“Those first six overs could well decide the direction of the match because both teams rely heavily on strong starts. My gut feeling is that whichever team wins this game could go on to win the tournament,” he added.

–IANS

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