- Name: Kolkata Knight Riders
- Captain: Shreyas Iyer
- Head Coach: Brendon McCullum
- Squad members: 25 players (4 retained)
- Best result: Champions in IPL 2012, 2014
- IPL 2021 result: Runners-up
Two-time winners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but this team has always had the squad strength to be at least 5-time winners. In fact, they reached the final of IPL 2021 as well, only to be stopped in their tracks by Chennai Super Kings. Kolkata Knight Riders is once again coming into an IPL season as one of the dark horses, retaining four of their best players and picking up some very expensive other players at the IPL 2022 Auction too.
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When this team released their super experienced duo and past captains in Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan ahead of the auction, we knew that they were in search of a new captain. They spent what they had to (12+ Crore) but they ensured they picked up Shreyas Iyer at the start of the auction, who is Delhi Capital’s former captain and one of the top Indian middle order batsmen, fresh off twin fifties in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka.
They lost Shubman Gill but they’ve got a like for like replacement in Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order. Many may think T20 is not his format but he’s got plenty of worthy IPL records and we’re sure he’ll do a good job as everyone else plays the role of aggressor around him. Opening options alongside Rahane could be Aaron Finch (who was signed as Alex Hales’ replacement) or they may with the tried and tested option of Sunil Narine.
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Narine was one of four retained players, the others being Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell. Three of the four are big hitters of the cricket ball and knowing Brendon McCullum their head coach, expect plenty big powerplay overs scores from this side. Venkatesh is another opening batsman option but with him making his international debut and playing in the lower order for India, that option can also be explored.
The batting order is packed and in fact, KKR will have a selection dilemma as they also have the likes of Nitish Rana, Sheldon Jackson, Baba Indrajith, and Sam Billings as middle order options. They purchased Mohammad Nabi at the IPL 2022 Auction but already having all-rounders in Narine, Russell and Venkatesh, Nabi could be warming the bench through most the season as they also have enough of spin options.
With the ball, Pat Cummins and Tim Southee are the leading overseas pacers. Considering they’ve paid big bucks for the Aussie pacer Cummins, he’s likely to be the third overseas player after Narine and Russell. They may not want an added batting option (Finch/Billings) because they already have enough of batters, so Southee could be a second pacer or they could even try the services of Sri Lanka’s Chamika Karunaratne.
Kolkata Knight Riders – IPL 2022 Betting
Heavy on the batting front but a little to worry about on the bowling front, KKR is one of our favourites at Read Scoops. They definitely have a better squad than the joint favourites Mumbai Indians. Their bowling may look less weak if Russell maintains his levels of fitness and bowls is quota right through IPL 2022. Squad depth is the only worry as they don’t have great local replacements in case of Covid-19 cases, injuries or anything else. Otherwise, they’re a good bet at odds of 9.0 with Betway.
8 ball challenge – Nitish vs Rinku
Kaun jitaa? Kaun haara? You decide!🔥😂@NitishRana_27 @rinkusingh235 #KKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #GalaxyOfKnights #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/XKj9iJdUGr
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 19, 2022
Narine and Chakravarthy are sure to bowl 8 overs of spin in every game and in case there’s a need, they have sixth bowling options in Rana and Venkatesh Iyer. With Umesh Yadav not having the best IPL record over the years and only playing two IPL games in the last couple of seasons, the younger Indian pacer Shivam Mavi is likely to be the preferred choice for them in the IPL 2022 season.
Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2022 squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Sam Billings, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Aaron Finch, Tim Southee, Mohammad Nabi, Rasikh Salam, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Aman Khan, Ramesh Kumar, Ashok Sharma.
For more updates on the progress of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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