IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Playing XI For Their First Match Of The Season

Kolkata Knight Riders bought a total of 21 players during the IPL auction 2022. Shreyas Iyer was the team’s most expensive deal at Rs. 12.25 crores. Some other expensive deals of KKR were Nitish Rana (Rs. 8 crores), Pat Cummins (7.25 crores), and Shivam Mavi (7.25 crores).

Ahead of the auction, the team retained 4 players in the squad. Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, and Sunil Narine are the 4 players that the team retained for IPL 2022. Now, the franchise has set a strong squad for the next season. Below we take a glance at Kolkata Knight Riders’ predicted playing XI for their first match of IPL 2022.

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IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Playing XI For Their First Match Of The Season

Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer will be the opener for the team in the opening game. The franchise retained the left-handed batsman for Rs. 8 crores ahead of the auction. He gave a fabulous performance last season, smashing 370 runs in 10 games at an average of 41.11 and 4 half-centuries.

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana will be the other opener for the team in the playing XI in the first game. Last season, the left-handed batsman piled up 383 runs at an average of 29.46 and 2 half-centuries. The team bought him back to the squad during IPL auction 2022 for Rs. 8 crores. Now, he might get the opening slot in the team.

Shreyas Iyer (C)

Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022. Parting ways with their previous skipper Eoin Morgan, the team spent Rs. 12.25 crores to grab Iyer in the squad. Iyer has a good experience of leading an IPL side, as he led Delhi Capitals to the final in IPL 2020. He will bat the no.3 spot in the tournament.

Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh might be another batsman for the team in the middle-order. The right-handed batsman has been part of the team in the last few seasons. He has only played 11 games so far and scored 77 runs since IPL 2017. Kolkata Knight Riders picked Rinku Singh for Rs. 55 lakh during IPL auction 2022.

Sam Billings (WK)

Sam Billings will be the wicketkeeper for the team in the opening game. Sam Billings is the only powerful wicketkeeper that the team has picked in the squad. Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out Rs. 2 crores to pick the English player. From IPL 2016 to IPL 2019, Billings has played 22 IPL games and accounts for 334 runs and 3 half-centuries.

Andre Russell

Andre Russell might be the all-rounder that Kolkata Knight Riders will pick in the opening game of IPL 2022. Andre Russell was the team’s top retention at Rs. 12 crores. Last season, he slammed 183 runs in 10 games and also picked 11 wickets.

Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine might be one of the spinners that the team can pick in the opening game. Being a bowling all-rounder, Narine can also be a good lower-order batsman for the team. Last season, the West Indies spinner hunted 16 wickets in 14 games at an average of 22.56.

Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy will be another spinner that Kolkata Knight Riders might go ahead with during the opening game of this year’s season. The right-arm spinner was retained by the team. Last year, Chakravarthy gave a fabulous bowling performance by picking 18 wickets in 17 games.

Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins was picked by KKR for Rs. 7.25 crores during IPL 2022 auction. He will be the pacer that the team can pick in the first match of IPL 2022. Cummins was part of KKR in the last season too. He picked 9 wickets in 7 games in the first leg. While batting, he also slammed 2 fifty. Cummins will also be a good tailender batsman for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Shivam Mavi

Shivam Mavi is another player the Kolkata Knight Riders bought back into the squad during IPL auction 2022. The two-time IPL champions picked the right-arm pacer for Rs. 7.25 crores. Last year, Mavi impressed everyone with his bowling show for KKR. He picked 11 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 21.18.

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav might be the other pacer that Kolkata Knight Riders can pick in playing XI in the opening game of IPL 2022. Umesh Yadav was part of Delhi Capitals in the last season but he did not play any game. The franchise bought the right-arm pacer at his base price of 2 crores.

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