IPL 2018: Strengths and weaknesses of each of the 8 franchises

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR hav won the IPL in 2012 and 2014

Strengths: Kolkata Knight Riders have retained the players who were successful for them in the previous editions. They have retained Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, and Robin Uthappa. These players would undoubtedly play an important role for the team this season.

They have a brilliant spin bowling attack with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Narine. Meanwhile, KKR also have good pacers in the form of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson.

Weaknesses: The middle order would be the biggest problem for the Kolkata side. Apart from the captain Dinesh Karthik, they don't have experienced middle order batsmen. They would have to depend on an inexperienced Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa may have to come down the order to fill the slots but the middle looks extremely brittle even if they were to come to the party.

Another possible weakness would be the place of an Indian pacer. Vinay Kumar and Kamlesh Nagarkoti would be competing for the slot but it is a source of concern for Karthik and Co.

Injuries are the biggest cause of concern for KKR right now with Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, and Mitchell Johnson all sidelined with injuries and in doubt for IPL.