Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought 22 players in the mega auction and they have made a full squad of 25 players now. They have also done quite impressive in the auction. Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakraborty, and Andre Russell were their three retentions and Shreyas Iyer was their most expensive buy-in IPL auction. In this article, we will see the best possible playing 11 of Kolkata Knight Riders after their auction.
Top order
- Venkatesh Iyer – A left-handed opening batsman who can also bowl. Venkatesh Iyer was worth a retention for KKR. He has performed well for KKR last year. Iyer has played only 22 matches of IPL in which he has scored 552 runs.
- N. Jagadeesan – Jagadishan has done well in private leagues. He has played only 7 IPL matches in his career and scored 73 runs in them. Venkatesh Iyer and Jagadeesan would be a good left and right arm combination for KKR.
- Nitish Rana – Kolkata bought Nitish Rana back as they know they can’t find a better middle-order batsman like him. Nitish Rana can also open but his in our playing 11 No.3 is the perfect place for him. He has scored 2181 runs in 91 matches in IPL.
Also Read: Watch IPL 2023 Live Streaming Free Online
Middle-order
- Shardul Thakur – Kolkata have bought Shardul Thakur this time because they know that they cannot get a better middle order batsman like him. Shardul Thakur Number 4 in our playing 11 is the perfect spot for him. He has also taken 173 runs and 82 wickets in 75 matches in IPL.
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper) – he will be our wicket keeper of our playing 11. KKR bought him in the auction and he is an Afghanistan uncapped player who can also bat in the middle order. Rahmanullah is playing IPL for the first time.
- Andre Russell – at No.6 it is KKR’s biggest star, Andre Russell. Russell played many matches for KKR and he is famous for his power hitting. No.6 is the perfect position for him as he can finish the game from here easily. Russell can also give 2 to 3 overs in between. He has scored 1400 runs in IPL in 65 matches and he also took 55 wickets in his IPL career so far.
- Sunil Narine – KKR’s very trustworthy player and whom KKR trust very much Sunil Narine will play at No.7 in the batting order. Although he is also a terrific opener, he can also finish the game so No 7 is perfect for him. Apart from his batting, it is his bowling that will be more useful as Sunil Narine is one of the best-limited overs spinners in the world. He has played 134 matches in IPL in which he has scored 954 runs and took 143 wickets.
Bowlers
- David Wiese – David Wiese is a wonderful bowler. He can give 4 overs and can play in the lower middle-order where he can contribute with the bat. He has played only 15 matches in IPL in which he took 16 wickets and scored 47 runs.
- Lockie Ferguson – Lockie Ferguson is also one such player whom KKR trusts very much. They got him back in the mega auction. He has 36 wickets in 35 IPL matches he played so far.
- Varun Chakraborty – mystery spinner Varun Chakraborty came into the highlight in 2020 when he was first seen playing for KKR in IPL. Varun Chakraborty has done significantly well for KKR in the past two seasons which forced KKR to retain him in the first three retentions.
- Umesh Yadav – in our playing 11 it is Umesh Yadav who will give company to Pay Cummins and Shivam Mavi in the fast-bowling department. Umesh Yadav is an experienced Indian bowler. KKR showed trust in his experience and they bought him. He has 119 wickets in 121 matches he has played in IPL so far.
Also Read: IPL 2023 : Kolkata Knight Riders full schedule & Squad
KKR Squad:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Nitish Rana (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, N Jagadeesan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Umesh Yadav, David Wiese, Mandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Kulwant Khejroliya, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma
