Former IPL winner Manvinder Bisla has picked the five players he feels Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should build their team around for the 2027 IPL season. Interestingly, he left out the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was bought for a massive ₹25.20 crore by KKR last year.
Bisla believes KKR needs stability after a disappointing 2026 season. The franchise finished seventh in the IPL 2026 points table and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
Now, with a new captain also set to take charge after Ajinkya Rahane retired from all forms of cricket, KKR have several big decisions to make before the next season. Amid this, Manvinder Bisla explains why KKR suit Hardik Pandya.
Manvinder Bisla names five KKR players to retain for IPL 2027
Speaking on The BallyBaazi YouTube podcast released on August 14, Manvinder Bisla picked Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, and Finn Allen as the five players the Kolkata Knight Riders should keep at all costs for IPL 2027.
Bisla said that Narine is the match-winning star and extremely important to the franchise. Narine has been with KKR since 2012 and has played a key role in all three of the team’s IPL title victories.
The former KKR batter also backed Chakravarthy because of his mystery spin. Rinku is already one of KKR’s most dependable Indian players and remains an important part of their future plans. Varun has taken 110 wickets for Kolkata in 94 innings since joining the team in 2020. He is the only third KKR bowler to cross 100 IPL wickets, after Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.
You shouldn’t even think about letting them go: Manvinder Bisla’s key advice to KKR
Young fast bowler Harshit Rana is another key player Bisla wants Kolkata Knight Riders to retain. His pace and ability to take wickets, apart from his valuable batting contribution at the lower order, make him a valuable option for the franchise. The final name is Finn Allen.
Bisla said on the BallyBaazi podcast, “Look, I feel that given the way KKR have been playing for some time, having Sunil Narine is very important. Having Varun Chakaravarthy is very important. Harshit Rana is very important. The evergreen Rinku Singh is very important. And then, having Allen is also very important, considering the way he performed last season. So, I feel you shouldn’t even think about letting these five players go.”
Sunil Narine’s incredible KKR legacy receives massive praise from Manvinder Bisla
The former cricketer has described Sunil Narine as the most valuable player in IPL history. Narine has spent his entire IPL career with KKR since joining the franchise in 2012. Amid this, Vijay Shankar officially joins Ravichandran Ashwin, set to play in ETPL.
Despite several changes in captains, coaches, teammates, and opposition players, the West Indies all-rounder has remained a key part of the Kolkata-based franchise. Narine is one of the team’s biggest legends, having taken 207 wickets and scored 1820 runs in over 200 games.
Praising Narine, Bisla said: “If you look at his overall performance, one thing about his legacy is that he has played for the same franchise and never even thought about changing teams. And then, if you look at Sunil Narine’s contribution to all three of KKR’s title wins, it has been next level. It is very difficult to match that.
So many captains have changed at KKR, so many opposition teams have changed, and so many big players have come and gone. But even now, very few people would say, ‘I can read Sunil Narine, and once I read him, I can score runs against him whenever I want.’”
