Starting XI of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a field day in the IPL auction 2024. The 2-time champions bought Mitchell Starc for a record price in the auction and strengthened their pace bowling. They have some very good players that can help them to be a better side than in 2023. The return of Shreyas Iyer will be a big boost for them. There are some exciting players in the lineup of KKR and fans would be looking forward to their play. It is time to look at their probable starting XI for the season.

Top order

Their top order consists of some talented batters. The innings would be started by Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The Afghanistan sensation is aggressive with the bat at the top, although not that consistent. But it will help KKR to get good starts which they lacked in IPL 2023. They are likely to open with Venkatesh Iyer at the other end, whose form is a genuine concern. The Southpaw was not great in 2023.

For KKR, the lower middle-order batters hold a key, and the role of the top-order batters becomes essential. Venkatesh needs to have a stellar season with the bat to prove himself as a genuinely good batter at the IPL level. He is yet to prove it and would be looking forward to doing the same. Although he takes time to get set in the middle, he can launch after getting into his grooves.

To follow him would be Nitish Rana, who seems to be hungry and angry. He is hungry for runs and angry for not being picked on the Indian team. He will be desperate to perform for KKR and is looking forward to giving his best with the bat. St number 3, his role would be crucial for KKR, as he must click in order to allow others around him to bat the way they would like to.

Middle-order

While the top order remains a concern for KKR, it is their middle order that looks dangerous. Shreyas Iyer at number 4 will have to give his best as a batter, given his contention in the T20 World Cup 2024. He would be back as the skipper of KKR for 2024 and a lot would be expected from him as a leader. KKR has been poor in the last 2 seasons as a team and fans would be hoping to erase it.

At number 5, KKR has emerging talent like Rinku Singh. He is one of the best finishers in world cricket at the moment. The youngster was highly impressive in the IPL 2023 and finished matches on his own. KKR would be hoping for similar performances from Rinku come the IPL 2024, which would help him to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2024 as well.

At number 6 and 7, KKR will have Andre Russell and Sunil Narine respectively. These two have been the face of the franchise for a long time. KKR would hope to see them give their best in the IPL 2024. Russell would be at number 6 as the ultimate finisher of the side. At number 7, Narine is likely to finish the games. If necessary, Anukul Roy might be brought in as an impact player for some extra runs.

Lower order

As far as their bowling is concerned, it will mostly depend on their spinners. They have the quality spin trio of Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Suyash Sharma. Their mantra would be spin to win. Hence, it would be good for them to prepare spin-friendly tracks, rather than the flat ones that do not support their bowlers. Moreover, their pace attack is more or less dependent on Mitchell Starc.

It will be the Australian star pacer who must carry their bowling in the PP overs and at the death. It will be crucial for KKR for Starc to come good in IPL 2024. With the new ball, Starc can swing the ball early in the innings. With the old ball, he still has an effective yorker. The new rule in the IPL of allowing 2 bouncers per over would be helpful for Starc and make him a lot more lethal.

The support for Starc in the pace department would be another concern. KKR has some options like Andre, Harshit Rana, Chetan Sakariya and others. But not many of them can be relied on to deliver the goods for the 2-time champions. Rana is likely to operate with the new ball along with Starc, which would be a big learning curve for him. Sakariya might be used as an impact player by KKR.

Here’s their probable starting XI in IPL 2024 –

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana

Impact player: Chetan Sakariya