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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) struggled to put on consistent performances in IPL 2022. The team won just six and lost eight of their fourteen matches and finished seventh on the points table.
The management acquired three overseas players—viz., Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, and David Weise—during the IPL 2023 auction. The likes of Mandeep Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, and Kulwant Khejroliya were also acquired during the auction.
The team has a few world-class players who can change the course of a game within the span of an over or two. KKR last won the coveted IPL trophy in 2014, and it's been nine long years since then.
Here is a look at three players in the KKR squad who could be the IPL 2023 Most Valuable Player (MVP):
#1 Shreyas Iyer
The KKR skipper has the capability and potential to be the MVP in IPL 2023. He has a decent record in IPL cricket, and in 101 innings, he has scored 2776 runs at an average of 31.55 and a strike rate of 125.38 with 19 half-centuries.
Iyer has matured as a cricketer in the past couple of seasons and is a regular member of the Indian Test team as well as the ODI team. In ODIs, he averaged 55.69 in 2022 and is a vital member of the middle order.
Iyer should look to bat at number three for KKR in IPL 2023. The more he is at the crease for KKR, the better chances of him scoring big runs. He can accelerate towards the end of the innings and provide the finishing touches.
He has scored 401 runs in IPL 2022 and will look to score many more runs in the upcoming IPL season and lead KKR to their third IPL trophy win.
#2 Sunil Narine
The Windies all-rounder is an exciting cricketer. He is an exceptional bowler and has an astounding economy rate of 6.63 runs in 148 IPL matches to go with 162 wickets. He usually bowls in power-play overs and, more often than not, does the job for his skipper.
Narine is often used as a pinch-hitter at the top of the order and has a strike rate of 175.66 opening the batting. Though he may not be consistent at the top of the order, he can be used as a surprise element for the opponent in a few games.
Overall, in 86 IPL innings with the bat, he has an exceptional strike rate of 162.70, and the game is not over until he is at the crease.
Narine has been the MVP in the IPL on two occasions, i.e., in 2012 and 2018, and will look to replicate his performances in the IPL 2023.
#3 Andre Russell
A strike rate of 177.88 from 82 innings with the bat and a bowling average of 24.48 make for the perfect reading for an all-rounder in the shortest format. The said statistics are those of Andre Russell in IPL cricket.
He is a match-winner on his day with both the bat and the ball. He is an extremely dangerous batsman, especially in the death overs, and if he gets his eye in, there is no looking back.
He has been MVP in the IPL on two occasions i.e. in 2015 and 2019. Russell has batted at numbers six and seven on most occasions for his team. KKR should look to promote Russell to bat at number five so that he can get more time out in the middle.
If Russell fires at number five, KKR will altogether be a dangerous team and could challenge the best in IPL 2023. Russell will look to grab the MVP award for the third time in IPL history and will be the first player to achieve this feat.
