3 Tactical changes which Kolkata Knight Riders should make to improve their performance

Kolkata Knight Riders didn't have a great auction this year as the team lost their long-standing captain in Gautam Gambhir to the Delhi Daredevils and had picked a relatively weak batting unit. The news about the injury concerns of Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, and the fact that Mitchell Starc was ruled out of this IPL, all added to their miseries.

The Kolkata team was expected to struggle in the tournament but what has transpired in their first two games has been remarkable for the side. The team, under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik, has punched above its weight and has shown the world what they are capable of.

The Dinesh Karthik led side won its first match against one of the tournament favourites-Royal Challengers Bangalore and almost went on to defeat the Chennai Super Kings in their own den. The Knights are certainly performing pretty well but have a few weak links in their team, which if looked upon, could work wonders for them.

#3) Altering the batting order depending on the opposition

Narine has a weakness against the ball spinning away from him

Sunil Narine opened for the Kolkata Knight Riders in both the matches against Bangalore and Chennai. He was successful against the former while he flopped against the latter and the reason behind it was the difference in the kind of bowlers both the teams had.

Bangalore had Yuzvendra Chahal, a leg-spinner bowling to Sunil Narine, the left-handed batsman, which made things easy for him. In addition, the fact that Washington Sundar wasn't at this best also helped Narine. On the other hand, in the match against Chennai, he had to face a quality off-spinner in Harbhajan Singh.

The conclusion one can draw from the two matches is that Narine is comfortable against pace bowling and leg spinners whereas he is uncomfortable with the ball spinning away from him. It is therefore important for Karthik to change the opening combination depending on the situation.

KKR should open with Narine against teams which lack quality off-spinners like Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, and Mumbai Indians, whereas they should open with Robin Uthappa against teams like Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab, who have quality off-spinners.

#2) Using Sunil Narine in powerplay and death overs

Narine has been KKR's best bowler in the first 2 matches

Sunil Narine has been the most important bowler of the Kolkata team in the first two games. He was called for a suspect action in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League but he has bounced back with a bang in the Indian Premier League.

Kolkata Knight Riders are facing a problem with death bowling as Vinay Kumar has proved to be expensive at the death in both the games. Narine has been the team's most economical bowler and it is therefore important for Karthik to use him in the death. The West Indian could prove to be a useful death bowler as he has the experience of doing the same in the past.

Another area where Narine can be used is in the powerplay overs. Karthik didn't use Narine in the powerplay overs against Chennai Super Kings and this allowed the Chennai team to get off to a blazing start, whereas Narine was used in the powerplay overs against Bangalore and it helped KKR in getting the early wickets.

#1) Include the Under-19 World Cup stars into the playing X1

Nagarkoti might get a chance in the next game

India are the 2018 Under-19 World Cup Champions but the stars of that tournament aren't finding a place in the playing XI of their respective IPL teams. The teams bought these stars at a huge price in the auction but are unwilling to field them right away.

Kolkata Knight Riders are the team which has the maximum number of the Under-19 World Cup stars but has refrained from including these players in the XI. Karthik has preferred the experienced Vinay Kumar and Rinku Singh over Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, and Shubman Gill.

Vinay Kumar has proved to be an expensive bowler on both the occasions and it is the right time for Karthik to give either Shivam Mavi or Kamlesh Nagarkoti a game in their next match. Rinku Singh, too, has failed on both the occasions and Shubman Gill should be given a chance to showcase his skills.

These youngsters are quality players are capable of playing at the highest level. It is better to give opportunities to players who have been earmarked for the future than giving opportunities to players who have continuously failed. Dropping Rinku Singh after just 2 failures might be a bit harsh on him but when you think that Shubman Gill is your future star, it is important for him to be given his opportunities