Cricket’s most awaited tournament is back and fans cannot wait to see their favorite players playing for their teams. The excitement and joy IPL brings in the life of cricket lovers is immeasurable. In this article, we will tell you the strongest playing 11 of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024.
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.
- Shreyas Iyer (Captain) – Iyer’s IPL career is quite brilliant. He has scored 2776 runs in 101 IPL matches so far.
- 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 2024 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
- Mitchell Starc – Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc was bought for INR 24.75 crore by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. KKR has high expectations from Starc.
- Chetan Sakariya – Chetan Sakariya is also one such player whom KKR trusts very much. They got him back in the mega auction. He has 20 wickets in 19 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.
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper)
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Shreyas Iyer (Captain)
- Nitish Rana
- Rinku Singh
- Andre Russell
- Sunil Narine
- Mitchell Starc
- Chetan Sakariya
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Vaibhav Arora
Also Read: IPL 2023 : Kolkata Knight Riders full schedule & Squad
KKR Squad:
Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer (c), Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain.
Squad strength: 23
Overseas players: 8
The best part of Kolkata is the availability of top Indian players in their team. They also have a very long batting lineup. In top order, they have two destructive openers, Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer who made a brilliant century last year in Wankhede stadium. At No.3 they have their captain and one of India’s most in-form batsmen, Shreyas Iyer who will play after one year.
Their middle order looks very strong as they have Nitish Rana who captained KKR last year in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, at No.5 they have India’s most trusted finisher, Rinku Singh. They have two superb all-rounders of the West Indies, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine. Mitchell Starc will come next who can also contribute with the bat. In bowling, they have many all-rounder options. Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell both can bowl. Narine will be their main spinner where he can play as an all-rounder. Their most expensive buy is Mitchell Starc who is back after 8 years in the league. Every IPL fan is excited to see him play. Their second spinner will be Varun Chakravarthy who is a genuine wicket taker. The only
