Kolkata Knight Riders is among the teams who have won IPL titles more than one time. They have won the tournament two times in 2012 and 2014. The last edition wasn’t ideal for them as they did a lot of chopping and changing and finished 8th on the points table.
However, it won’t be easy for them this time as well as they will be without their skipper Shreyas Iyer. The onus is now on Nitish Rana to lead the side. The team would want to make a statement and clinch their third title. It remains to be seen how will they fair under the leadership of a new skipper.
Kolkata Knight Riders Strongest Playing 11 for IPL 2023
Kolkata Knight Riders will open their campaign against Punjab Kings in Mohali on the 1st April. The two-time champions since winning the title in 2014 haven’t been able to get going. They have performed well in patches but have failed to overcome pressure situations. It’ll be another opportunity for them to have a shot at a tile and bag the third trophy.
Talking about their playing 11, it’s likely that Venkatesh Iyer will be the first-choice opener for the team. The all-rounder has performed well ever since he started opening the innings. Although he looked off colours last season but it is likely that he will make a strong comeback this year. They have a lot of options for the second opening slot but it is expected that N Jagadeesan, who was in staggering form in the domestic circuit will open the innings and also keep the wickets.
In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana is expected to bat at No.3. The southpaw has been the backbone of KKR’s batting lineup since the past few years. This time around there’ll be added responsibilities on him. Shakib Al Hasan is likely to take the No.4 spot in the team. Bangladesh’s T20I skipper has been in fine nick of late and is expected to play a crucial role with both bat and ball.
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Rinku Singh was the find of the season for Kolkata Knight Riders last year. The southpaw played some brutal knocks for the team last year and is expected to play a finisher’s role for the team alongside Andre Russell. The all-rounder has been the team’s MVP since a long and a lot will be reliant on him this year.
Sunil Narine no doubt will feature in the team. His bowling has been exceptional and he also can hit some lusty blows in the end. He is likely to be followed by Shardul Thakur, whom KKR traded ahead of the season. Umesh Yadav, who was the leading wicket-taker for the side last year is likely to form the pace department with Lockie Ferguson, who was also traded. Whereas Varun Chakravarty is likely to be the third spinner in the team.
Venkatesh lyer
N Jagadeesan (wk)
Nitish Rana (C)
Shakib Al Hasan
Andre Russell
Rinku Singh
Shardul Thakur
Sunil Narine
Umesh Yadav
Lockie Ferguson
Varun Chakravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the IPL 2023
It’s fair to say that Kolkata Knight Riders covered almost all their bases this time around. They have quite a few all-rounders in the team and it’s fair to say that he can dominate any opposition they want if they play to their potential.
Here’s the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the IPL 2023
Nitish Rana (C) Rahmanullah Gurbaj, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan.
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