The Indian Premier League (IPL) is just 10 days away! One of the teams which are considered to be the front runner to take the trophy home is Kolkata Knight Riders.
Today we take a closer look at one of the most balanced sides of the tournament. We will analyze each aspect of their team going into IPL 2020.
History
Unlike most of the teams, the Knight Riders had a shaky start to their 12-year tenure. The franchise finished at the bottom tier of the table in the first three seasons. However, things radically changed after appointing Gautam Gambhir as the captain. Gambhir led the franchise to win the tournament twice in seven years. He also made them qualify thrice into playoffs and made a solid foundation for the future. KKR then also qualified for the playoffs under the leadership of Dinesh Karthik.
2008: 6th place
2009: 8th place
2010: 6th place
2011: 4th place
2012: Champions
2013: 7th place
2014: Champions
2015: 5th place
2016: 4th place
2017: 3rd place
2018: 3rd place
2019: 5th place
Squad for IPL 2020
Dinesh Karthik (captain), Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Siddhesh Lad, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Chris Green, Tom Bantom, Nikhil Naik, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Manimaran Siddharth, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Sandeep Warrier, and Pat Cummins.
How will they perform in IPL 2020?
BATTING – The team has a perfect combination of extremely attacking options and players who can play the anchor role as well. KKR is famously known for using spinner Sunil Narine as a pinch hitter at the opening spot. He will be accompanied by young and explosive batsman Shubman Gill.
According to newly appointed mentor David Hussey, Knight Riders are looking forward to promoting hard-hitting Andre Russell at number 3. The middle-order will be under the safe hands of captain Dinesh Karthik and English captain Eoin Morgan. IPL tested Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, and Rinku Singh will add the finishing touches.
They will also have the services of highly-rated English batsman Tom Banton.
BOWLING – KKR has invested in many young pace bowling options like Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. They have to select either Pat Cummins or Lockie Ferguson to lead the attack. The other bowlers, however, will have to facilitate accordingly.
Spin bowling has never been an issue for KKR. Sunil Narine will lead the attack and with changed bowling action, he is expected to be even more dangerous. He will be assisted by the experienced Kuldeep Yadav. Yadav has been slightly expensive at times, so they can also use newcomers Varun Chakraborty and Manimaran Siddharth for the same.
Overall if KKR can allocate their resources properly and keep their pace bowling tight, they can make the playoffs this year as well and even win the title for the third time.
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