Kolkata Knight Riders are among those teams who have lifted the trophy more than once. However, After Gautam Gambhir left the captaincy the team did not find the same rhythm again. In IPL 2022, the team finished in the seventh position under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer.
Kolkata Knight Riders Performance in IPL 2022:
In IPL 2022, KKR played 14 matches out of which they managed to win 6 and lost eight games. The team is going through a transition after the exit of some star players and struggling to get a proper playing XI. Last year, Kolkata could not make it to the playoffs and had the 7th position in the points table.
Strengths Of KKR
KKR is one such team who is heavily dependent on its all-rounders, especially Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. Both these players have contributed to the game with bat and ball. Venkatesh Iyer from India is another such cricketer who can go hard on the ball and pick wickets in the middle overs.
KKR traded Thakur from Delhi Capitals. Although Thakur’s performance in the previous season was inconsistent he has the potential to be a valuable player for KKR if he performs well with his bat and ball.
During the IPL auction, Kolkata got Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh and David Wiese from Namibia. With the addition of these players, the team now has a strong group of versatile cricket players.
Weaknesses
KKR is struggling with their opening batters. Last year they tried Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer but did not get a good result. As the tournament progressed, KKR frequently changed their opening pair, with players such as Aaron Finch, Narine, Sam Billings, and Baba Indrajith. This constant rotation of openers did not help establish a stable and reliable opening partnership for the team.
During the IPL 2023 auction, KKR got N Jagadeesa who has been performing exceptionally well as an opener for the Tamil Nadu team. In top order, Jagadeesan could be a valuable asset for KKR. The team has another opening option, Litton Das.
The X-factor for KKR:
In batting N Jagadeesan could be the X-Factor for the team as he is coming up with a heap of runs in domestic cricket. David Wiese is another experienced contender upon whom Kolkata can rely on both for batting and bowling. The pacer Duo Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee will also be a treat to watch.
IPL 2023 To Start With 4 Major Changes In Rule, Here Is The Full Detail
KKR Squad for IPL 2023:
Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Narayan Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Weise, Kulwant Khejrolia, Mandeep Singh, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan.
KKR Match Schedule For IPL 2023:
