IPL 2022: First Choice Seven Indian Players Of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) For The Tournament

Kolkata Knight Riders added 21 players in the IPL 2022 mega auction to go with the four players they had retained ahead of the mega auction. The franchise retained Andre Russell for Rs. 12 crores, Varun Chakravarthy for Rs. 8 crores, Venkatesh Iyer for Rs. 8 crores, and Sunil Narine for Rs. 6 crores.

They added Shreyas Iyer for 12.5 crores and announced him as the skipper for the next season. Apart from him, Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, and Shivam Mavi were the players that they bought back in the auction. The squad has a lot of potential and talent. Kolkata Knight Riders reached the finals of IPL 2021 but lost out to CSK in the final. Both teams kick off the IPL 2022 as they face off in the first game of the season at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on March 26.

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Ahead of the game, the franchise needs to identify their best seven players who can feature in the playing XI. In this article, we analyse who those seven players can be for the two-time IPL champions.

IPL 2022: First Choice Seven Indian Players Of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) For The Tournament

Venkatesh Iyer

Iyer was one of the four players retained by Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored 370 runs in 10 matches in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. It was very much due to his exploits at the top that KKR made it to the finals. His IPL success paved the path for his white-ball debut. He will open the innings for KKR and it is important for him to replicate his 2021 success in 2021.

Also Read: IPL 2022: CSK vs KKR To Kick Off New IPL Season On March 26

Shreyas Iyer

Iyer will lead the franchise and should ideally bat at number three. He has shown some good form batting at that number against Sri Lanka in the absence of Virat Kohli. Batting at number three will give the KKR skipper enough time to build an innings and launch an onslaught in the final overs. How he shoulders captaincy responsibilities for KKR will be an interesting observation.

Nitish Rana

Rana was added to the KKR outfit for 8 crores. He had a few good seasons for KKR. He was the highest run-getter for the side in the India leg of IPL 2021. He is expected to bat at number four with Shreyas Iyer, batting at number three in the batting order. He will have to play an important role in the middle-order which has been an issue with the franchise for a long time now.

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane is a veteran of the IPL and will give KKR enough flexibility in the batting order. He can open the batting with Iyer if required and also can slot in the middle-order. From number three to number five he can bat at any position. With enough experience of playing in the IPL, he can also be a part of the leadership group for KKR. Having played alongside Shreyas Iyer at Delhi Capitals, he would know his leadership style closely as well.

Varun Chakravarthy

Varun will be one of the two spinners in the KKR playing XI. He started playing for KKR in IPL 2020 and in two seasons proved to be a matchwinner for the side, He ended with 18 wickets for KKR last season and took a total of 35 wickets between 2020 and 2021. Kolkata would ideally hope that he stays consistent with his performance and keeps a track of his fitness as well.

Shivam Mavi

Mavi was one of the four players KKR bought back in their squad. He will add raw pace in the playing XI and along with Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee and Pat Cummins is a part of a four-pronged pace attack. There might be matches where either of Umesh or Mavi might be picked in the playing XI. Mavi along with Kamlesh Magarkoto who was groomed by KKR from 2018 to 2021.

Umesh Yadav

Also Read: IPL 2022: First Choice Seven Indian Players Of Mumbai Indians (MI) For The Tournament