The news was confirmed by KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane during the coin toss.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have opted to drop their England all-rounder Moeen Ali for the clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2025).
The news was confirmed by KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane during the coin toss. In place of Moeen Ali, KKR has decided to include the extra pace of Anrich Nortje.
Nortje, who will be returning from injury and playing his first match of the season, has been included to counter the explosive top order of PBKS in the likes of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer.
Punjab Kings (PBKS Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy
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This will be a mid-table clash with KKR currently placed at fifth while PBKS are just one place behind on sixth. Both teams have same points, although KKR have played one game extra.
The defending champions currently have six points from as many games while PBKS have the same tally in five matches.
Hosts Punjab are coming into the game in the back of a defeat after failing to defend 245 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) while KKR enters the contest with a confident eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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