Can the return of Shreyas Iyer and Mitchell Starc revive the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - Team Profile

Owners: Knight Riders Sports Private Ltd.

Captain: Shreyas Iyer

Coach: Chandrakant Pandit

Previous edition: 7th

Title: Twice (2012 & 2014)

The two-time IPL winning team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), haven’t been as consistent in recent years. Last year, KKR could win only six of their 14 games and attained 12 points in the league stage. Hence, they couldn’t qualify for playoffs and ended in the seventh position on the points table.

KKR have made a few big changes for IPL 2024, with the return of Gautam Gambhir hogging headlines. They also bought the Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc at a whopping price to solve their bowling issues. Shreyas Iyer, who missed the last season due to a back injury, will also return to the fold and lead the unit.

Chandrakant Pandit will be the head coach of the team again. KKR blew hot and cold last season. They will hope to do better and win more matches in IPL 2024.

Complete KKR Squad for IPL 2024

Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, 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, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain

Team News (Injuries and replacements)

• Jason Roy has withdrawn his name due to personal reasons. Phil Salt replaces him.

• Gus Atkinson will also not feature in IPL 2024, replaced by Dushmantha Chameera.

• Shreyas Iyer has had back issues lately and might take a rest for a few games.

Also Read: Will Rishabh Pant's presence be enough for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024?

Probable KKR Playing XI for IPL 2024:

Strengths

• Kolkata Knight Riders have among the strongest Indian batting cores in the competition.

• KKR have a nice blend of RHB-LHB throughout the batting unit.

• KKR have terrific spin-hitters in the middle order and pace-hitters in the lower order.

• KKR have quality and variety in the spin department.

• Andre Russell can act as an enforcer in the middle overs.

• KKR also have exciting options in the pace department who can be mighty effective in the powerplay and middle overs.

Weaknesses

• The opponents can agitate Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana by lining up pacers against them.

• While KKR have bought Mitchell Starc, he is not the same T20 bowler anymore. He is vulnerable and can concede plenty of runs in death overs. Harshit Rana is not a proven bowler, either.

• The backups for the starting XI aren’t as rich in quality.

KKR’s IPL 2024 Fixtures/Schedule

• KKR vs SRH - 23rd March, 7:30 PM IST

• RCB vs KKR - 29th March, 7:30 PM IST

• DC vs KKR - 3rd April, 7:30 PM IST

IPL 2024 Season Prediction

If we compare it to the previous few editions, Kolkata Knight Riders definitely look more formidable. While the buzz around Mitchell Starc is palpable, KKR also have other quality options to build on. The investment in the Indian core seems fruitful now.

However, KKR still have a few gaps in their squad. The pace attack is heavily reliant on Mitchell Starc. Starc’s T20 credentials have also come down significantly.

KKR should win more matches in IPL 2024. However, they don’t inspire enough confidence to advance to playoffs. KKR might have to settle with a league-stage exit again in IPL 2024.

For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube.