Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2023 Preview

The Kolkata Knight Riders face an uphill task in IPL 2023 as they look to win their first title since 2014 without their captain Shreyas Iyer. The 28-year-old batter has been side-lined with a back issue without a definitive date of return and only a slim chance of coming back into the side at the business end of the season, and Nitish Rana has been handed the captaincy reins in his absence. KKR’s change in leadership also extends to the coaching department, with Ranji veteran Chandrakant Pandit replacing Brendon McCullum at the helm of the side.

KKR were also one of the most active teams in the off-season ahead of IPL 2023, bringing in Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson via trades and the likes of Mandeep Singh and N Jagadeesan at the auction.

Player to watch out for: Andre Russell

Once again, Andre Russell holds the key to KKR’s chances in IPL 2023 as the premier match-winner in the side. Russell was the sole bright spark in a disappointing season for the Knight Riders last year, scoring 335 runs and picking up a team-high 17 wickets. The Jamaican will need to get over his recent injury troubles and recreate his all-round heroics from 2022 to give KKR a chance of making the final four this season.

Strengths

KKR have a much better balance to their side compared to last season, where they finished seventh with six wins and eight losses. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine form the backbone of the side as the two primary all-rounders, while David Wiese is also an able backup for the injury-prone Jamaican. In addition, Shardul Thakur lends more balance to the side coming in at number eight and deepens the batting order with his power-hitting, while Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer can also provide a few overs for certain matchups.

Weaknesses

Shreyas Iyer’s absence weakens an already brittle batting order that could be easily blown over by quality pace bowling. Potential openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Litton Das are still unproven at the highest level, while none of their four domestic batters – Venkatesh Iyer, Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana, and Rinku Singh – are near the national set-up for the Men in Blue.

Varun Chakravarthy’s downturn in performances is also a worry for the Men in Purple. KKR’s spinners picked up the second-fewest wickets in the IPL last season after SRH, and the mystery spinner managed to take just six scalps across 11 matches in 2022 at an average of over 55.

Probable Playing XI

Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Litton Das, Venkatesh Iyer, Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy