2022 Indian Premier League Team Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders

Last year finalist Kolkata Knight Riders have gone for a wholesale changes for this year’s competition. Last season, Knight Riders performed well and qualified for the finals of the competition. Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL tile on two occasions (2012 and 2014 season). The team management have made some notable acquisitions this season.

The franchise’s strategy has been to buy new players for the coming IPL season. Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, spinner Varun Chakravarthy, West Indies duo of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are the four players retained by the franchise for the coming season of Indian Premier League. The franchise has gone for experienced ones as Shreyas Iyer, Pat Cummins, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi and Nitish Rana were signed during 2022 IPL Auction.

With Shreyas Iyer being signed by the franchise, the middle-order batsman will be keen to deliver his best for Kolkata Knight Riders. Last season, Shreyas Iyer has accumulated 175 runs in eight innings at an average of 35.00 with a strike rate of 102.33.

Middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer, turned out to be Kolkata’s biggest acquisitions in the 2022 IPL auction after he was picked up for a fee of 12.25 crore for this year’s competition.

Besides Shreyas Iyer, Alex Hales has been a consistent performer in the T20 Leagues being played around the world. Venkatesh Iyer has been a bankable performer for Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous edition of the league. He has the ability to go after the bowlers in the Power play overs. He is the premier player for Kolkata for the coming season and will need to do the bulk of the scoring at the top of the innings.

Kolkata Knight Riders have plenty of experience in the middle order as Nitish Rana, Sam Billings and Andre Russell, have delivered match-winning performances in the T20 format in the past.

Andre Russell, Mohammad Nabi, and Venkatesh Iyer are three top quality all-rounders in the squad for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League.

On the bowling front, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav are four premier pacers for the coming season. Sunil Narine, Mohammad Nabi, and Varun Chakravarthy are prominent spinners available for Kolkata for the 15^th edition of Indian Premier League.

Players to watch out for

Indian pacer Shivam Mavi will be one bowler to watch out for Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s tournament.. He has the ability to pick up wickets with the new-ball and bowl well at the back end of the innings.

After doing well for national side during the home series against New Zealand, West Indie and Sri Lanka, Shreyas Iyuer will be premier player to watch out for Kolkata in the batting department. For the past three editions, Gill has been a consistent performer with the bat and deliver notable scores on a regular basis in this year’s Indian Premier League.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Possible XI: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Andre Russell, Ajinkya Rahane, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Nitish Rana, Alex Hales, Mohammad Nabi, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav,Varun Chakravarthy.