IPL 2023: Can The Knight Riders Ride Through The Storm?

KKR have powerful figures in that middle order. From Shreyas, and Rinku Singh, to that of Andre Russell, it's power-packed. It will be interesting to see whether Shakib Al Hasan gets the backing. He is a specialist in the format and highly experienced...

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Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Kolkata Knight Riders will need to banish irregularities and come out triumphant in the upcoming 2023 edition of the cash-rich league. KKR - under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer - have a quality set-up, and it's time they bring consistency into play again. One of the more sorted outfits, KKR, who reached the IPL 2021 final under Eoin Morgan, missed the bus by finishing 7th last season in the 10-team table. Since winning the IPL in 2014, KKR have reached the playoffs in four seasons (2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018). In 2019 and 2020, KKR finished fifth out of 8 teams. Shreyas, who is a quality skipper, will look to make an impression after blowing hot and cold in 2022. KKR have the desired arsenal in bowling and batting, but a few holes remain. In the IPL 2023 auction, KKR roped in international stars Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan before trading former pacer Lockie Ferguson with Pat Cummins deciding to miss the season. Among uncapped players, N Jagadeesan was a notable purchase. KKR will be counting on their elite veteran players to make things work, and the stakes are high. Consistent performances must come by if KKR wants to reach the playoffs again. Ahead of a crunch season ahead, we present a detailed analysis of the eastern giants.

FULL SQUAD OF KKR

Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan.