Kolkata Knight Riders Strongest Playing 11 for IPL 2023: IPL 2023 is all set the begin on 31st March with the first match between Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad which is the home ground of Gujarat Titans.
But KKR will begin their campaign on 1st April at Mohali against Punjab Kings which will be led by Indian left-hander batsman; Shikhar Dhawan. KKR is one of the three most successful IPL franchises co-owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan; the franchise has won the IPL trophies two times, first in IPL 2012 and the second trophy in 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.
Shreyas Iyer was supported to lead the KKR team this year too but due to an injury, he is ruled out from the IPL 2023 but might play the second half of the tournament. In his absence, Nitish Rana has been appointed as the new captain to lead the franchise this year.
The left-handed top-order batsman played an important role for the KKR sinch 2018, he played important innings in many matches which made his team win that matches. He also has some captaincy experience because he led the domestic cricket team of Delhi in the T20 format.
Kolkata Knight Riders Strongest Playing 11 for IPL 2023
Venkatesh Iyer
N Jagadeesan (wk)
Nitish Rana (C)
Shakib Al Hasan
Andre Russell
Rinku Singh
Shardul Thakur
Sunil Narine
Umesh Yadav
Lockie Ferguson
Varun Chakravarthy
KKR will most likely open with Venkatesh Iyer along with the wicket-keeper batsman Jagadeesan, but we may see Sunil Narine opening in some matches as this will be part of KKR’s experiment as they do every season.
Captain Nitish Rana will give stable support in the middle order, he will be seen batting at no. 3rd in absence of Shreyas Iyer. He has been the backbone of KKR’s batting lineup for the last few years. But this year, he will also have the responsibility to lead his team.
Shakib Al Hasan is most likely to come to bat at no. 4th, he has been an important asset for the Kolkata franchise for the past few years with the bat and ball. Rinku Singh will bat as the no.5, he is the find of the IPL 2022 season because of the many important innings he played for his team. He got the permanent role in Kolkata’s playing XI for most of the matches.
Andre Russell then stands in the 6th position, an aggressive West-Indian batsman is known for finishing the matches for KKR. He will continue his role this season also, with the bat as well as with the bowl.
Undoubtedly, Sunil Narine will secure his spot in the team for his exceptional bowling skills and his ability to smash some massive hits at the end of the innings. Following him, Shardul Thakur is expected to make his debut for KKR this season after the team traded for him. Meanwhile, Umesh Yadav, who emerged as the top wicket-taker for the side in the previous season, is anticipated to lead the pace department alongside Lockie Ferguson, who was also traded in for this season. Lastly, Varun Chakravarty, the mystery spinner, is expected to be the third spinner in the team.
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad for IPL 2023
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have an impressive squad for the upcoming IPL 2023 season, with a good balance of both experienced and young talent. Nitish Rana has been given the responsibility to lead the team as the captain, and he has a strong supporting cast to back him up.
KKR’s previous season did not go well, the franchise finished their season at the seventh position of the IPL 2022 points table by winning just 6 matches out of a total of 14 matches played through the season.
This year, fans are hoping for some good cricket from their favourite team. The captain has been changed and a few changes were also made by the squad for this season. Let’s see what KKR got to bring to the table this year.
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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