Kolkata is one of the most beautiful places for cricket as the emotional crowd gets involved in the game and Kolkata Knight Riders have a huge and crazy fan following. The Shah Rukh Khan-owned team has always been associated with its blockbuster names in the tournament that have been associated with the team. During the days of Gautam Gambhir at the helm of affairs, Kolkata was a major force with 2 titles in 2012 and 2014 but their performances of late have dipped a bit. Last season Dinesh Karthik had left the captaincy of KKR Mid-Season saw English skipper Eoin Morgan take to the captaincy and saw the team finish outside of the play-off places, this season the Eoin Morgan led KKR will look to get their hands on a prospective third title this coming season.
Openers – Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill
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Kolkata struggled for a decent opening pair last year and this year one could see the left and right handed combination of Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill. The duo could give Eoin Morgan the attacking start he would like to see from his opening batsmen.
Number three – Karun Nair
Morgan could play Karun Nair at number, the triple centurion for India in test cricket will be looking to make a comeback to the national side and the IPL could be the right platform for him to stake a claim in the Indian team.
Middle Order – Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik (WK) Andre Russell
Kolkata will have the innovative three off Morgan, Karthik and Andre Russell to shore the middle order and use their cricketing brain to make Kolkata Knight Riders a formidable team in the middle overs with a mix of power-hitting and deft touch.
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Spinners – CV Varun and Sunil Narine
KKR will be delighted to have a spin attack which has the latest sensation Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine and in the bench they have the 413 test wicket veteran Harbhajan Singh to call upon in case they have any of the spinners misfiring.
Fast bowlers – Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna
KKR possesses one of the strongest pace bowling units with each bowler capable of hitting 150 KPH with ease. The team also has the talented Kamlesh Nagarkotti at their disposal to call upon.
KKR starting XI for the IPL 2021 season
Nitish Rana
Shubman Gill
Karun Nair
Eoin Morgan (Captain)
Dinesh Karthik (W-K)
Andre Russell
Sunil Narine
CV Varun
Shivam Mavi
Pat Cummins
Prasidh Krishna