IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI For The First Match Of The Tournament
Published - 07 Mar 2022, 03:53 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:05 AM
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Kolkata Knight Riders stunned everyone after showcasing an unbelievable performance in the second leg of IPL 2022. They went on to reach the finals but couldn’t win the title. A total of four players from the team were retained by the franchise, namely Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Kolkata Knight Riders have picked a new skipper in Shreyas Iyer for the upcoming edition of the tournament. They shelled out 12.25 crores to buy his services at the Mega Auction. Besides, they also made some other valuable buys such as Pat Cummins, Alex Hales and Mohammad Nabi among others. In this article, we take a look at our predicted playing XI of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI For The First Match Of The Tournament
Openers: Venkatesh Iyer and Alex Hales
Venkatesh Iyer was one of the biggest reasons behind KKR’s remarkable turnaround in the second half of IPL 2022. Iyer opened the innings for the team and managed to score 370 runs in 10 matches at an average of 41.11 and a strike rate of 128.47.
Heading into a new season, he is, once again, likely to open the innings for KKR. England cricketer, Alex Hales will partner Iyer this season. Hales has been a household name in T20 cricket. He is known for giving destructive starts with the bat and it will be interesting to see how he performs with the bat in IPL this year.
Middle-Order: Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Sheldon Jackson
Kolkata Knight Riders would be delighted to sign Shreyas Iyer at the Mega Auction. He recently showed his class in the T20 series against Sri Lanka. Iyer will bat at three in this batting unit. He ought to perform well if KKR fancies a chance in the playoffs this year.
KKR have also managed to bring Nitish Rana back into the team. He is another important batsman in this batting line-up and is likely to bat at number four. Rana has been a prolific run-scorer for KKR, over the years, and would be looking to continue in the same vein. At five is Sheldon Jackson, who will don the wicket-keeping gloves for KKR this year.
All-rounders: Andre Russell and Sunil Narine
KKR veteran players, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will be two of the most important players on the side. Their all-round potential with bat and ball makes them key to the team’s fortune in the competition. Russell didn’t have an ideal season last year and would be hopeful of making a strong comeback. Narine, on the other hand, is likely to bat at lower middle-order and will lead the spin department.
Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy
Australian Test captain, Pat Cummins will continue to don the fast bowling department of KKR. The franchise managed to get him back into the team after shelling out 7.25 crores.
Shivam Mavi and Umesh Yadav will be the Indian pacers, who are likely to find themselves in the playing XI ahead of their first game. Varun Chakravarthy has been their biggest bet in the bowling department for the last couple of seasons. He will continue to have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.
Tagged:
Andre Russell Indian Premier League IPL 2022 Kolkata Knight Riders Nitish Rana Pat Cummins Sheldon Jackson Shivam Mavi Shreyas Iyer Sunil Narine Umesh Yadav Varun Chakravarthy Venkatesh Iyer
