KKR's strongest playing XI and impact players after IPL 2024 auction

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) grabbed headlines at the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction by making the most expensive signing in the history of the competition. They snapped up Mitchell Starc for ₹24.75 crore, outlasting the Gujarat Titans (GT) in a fierce bidding war.

Apart from Starc, KKR picked up Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sherfane Rutherford and Gus Atkinson in the overseas department. Manish Pandey was their only experienced domestic signing, with most of the others being uncapped talent, some of whom have prior IPL experience.

KKR's squad after the IPL 2024 auction: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Jason Roy, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain.

Having made one or two notable acquisitions, KKR's XI could wear a slightly different look during the upcoming season. They didn't have many holes to fill and instead only needed backups, something they achieved on Tuesday.

Here is KKR's strongest playing XI, along with their impact player candidates, after the IPL 2024 auction.

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Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer

Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a couple of sizzling knocks last year

KKR would ideally like to have the experienced Jason Roy at the top of the order. The destructive Englishman played a couple of sizzling knocks during IPL 2023 and has managed to reinvent his game against spin to emerge as a potent threat at all stages of the innings.

However, Kolkata have only two wicket-keepers to choose from - Rahmanullah Gurbaz and KS Bharat. To play Roy, they will need to free up an overseas slot by dropping Gurbaz. With top-order spots being scarce, Bharat will have to bat well out of position in that scenario.

So KKR's resources could be maximized by trusting Gurbaz, who is dangerous on his day, at the top of the order. The Afghan opener needs to be more consistent.

Venkatesh Iyer is another player who doesn't inspire the kind of confidence he did during his breakthrough 2021 season. However, while he has issues against swing and with strike rotation, the left-hander is ideally used at the top and should partner Gurbaz.

There are quite a few combinations KKR can try out if they want Roy and Bharat in the mix, but they should stick to Gurbaz and Venkatesh for now. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, short of experience and proven T20 performances, won't be much more than a backup.

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Middle Order: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh

Shreyas Iyer missed out on IPL 2022 with a back injury

Four names in KKR's middle order are straightforward to pick. Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell have formed the core of the team over the last few years and will continue to do so in IPL 2024.

At No. 7, the Knight Riders might be forced to field Ramandeep Singh to lengthen their batting lineup. Manish Pandey is another option, but Ramandeep can strike big blows and share third-pacer duties along with Russell.

Kolkata have the option to trust the lower-order batting of Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine and Mitchell Starc, thereby playing either Chetan Sakariya or Vaibhav Arora ahead of Ramandeep. But all three aren't guaranteed to succeed at No. 7, and the former Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder might be their best bet.

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Lower Order: Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy

Mitchell Starc hasn't been in great form of late

With the Eden Gardens becoming spin-friendly again, KKR are likely to want to field their excellent spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Suyash Sharma in tandem. That would mean that one of them, either Suyash or Varun, would have to come off the bench as the impact player.

Following Starc's inclusion in the side, only one spot remains. Harshit Rana could be the frontrunner for that role, with his ability to move the ball and hit hard lengths at a good clip. The youngster also has some big-hitting ability, and the signs are pointing towards a breakthrough IPL season.

Arora and Sakariya would be unlucky to miss out, but such is the composition of KKR's squad.

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KKR's strongest playing XI after IPL 2024 auction: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy.

KKR's impact player candidates after IPL 2024 auction: Suyash Sharma (frontrunner), Vaibhav Arora, KS Bharat, Manish Pandey, Chetan Sakariya.