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Kolkata Knight Riders will once again start as one of the favorites to lift the IPL trophy when they begin their campaign against another Pre-tournament favorites Sun Risers Hyderabad on the 2nd day of IPL 2019.
The Dinesh Karthik led side made it to the last 4 in the last season but couldn't reach the finals. Actually, they did well to go that far as they were troubled by injury concerns even before the start of the tournament as their spearhead Mitchell Starc didn't even feature in a single game.
But this time around, they have all the bases covered with a right blend of youth and experience in their arsenal
Kolkata Knight Riders full squad for IPL 2019: Dinesh Karthik (c), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Carlos Brathwaite,Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Nikhil Naik, Yarra Prithviraj, Shrikant Mundhe, Joe Denly, KC Cariappa, and Sandeep Warrier.
The dominant playing XI for the Kolkata Knight Riders that can take SRH for a ride are::
Openers: Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn
One of the destructive opening combination in all of the IPL and last season they were one of the primary reasons why the KKR were able to reach the final 4 of the tournament.
Sunil Narine, in particular, was a revelation since being promoted to open and even notched up the fastest IPL fifty in the process completely dominating the bowlers of the opposition.
He will most probably open the innings yet again, to go with his off-spinners.
Chris Lynn has become one of the fiercest strikers of the ball and is dangerous players only given day particularly in T20 cricket.
He had a great IPL last season and KKR fans will hope he comes good this time too when they take the field.
Middle Order: Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, and Dinesh Karthik(Captain & Wicketkeeper)
Robin Uthappa didn't have a great season by any means, but he is still one of their best batsmen and will be expected to carry the innings forward for the KKR.
He is the most likely person to bat at No.3.
Shubman Gill is one of the promising stars of Indian cricket and recently made his debut for the national team. He had a decent maiden outing in the IPL last season and will hope to continue his good work in the 2019 edition too.
Gill will be the one to bat at the No.4 position for the KKR.
Dinesh Karthik will return to captain the side and will look to replicate his own personal form this season too with the bat.
He was a standout last season and inspired his team to make it to the last 4.
All Rounders: Nitish Rana and Andre Russell
Nitish Rana is another youngster who impressed everyone with his exploits with the bat for the KKR. Rana was useful with the ball too and chipped in with few wickets.
Nitish Rana will be the most likely candidate to fill in the uncapped player slot for the Knight Riders. As a player with 3 seasons of IPL behind, he will be expected to come good.
Andre Russell is one of the most valuable players of the players in the IPL and his ability to change the course of the game both the bat and ball is second to none. But, he is injury prone, and KKR will hope that he will play the entire season without and any worries.
He will most likely take the new ball as well as at the death and is expected to be deadly with the bat once again.
Bowlers: Piyush Chawla and Prasidh Krishna
Piyush Chawla is one of the underrated performers in the history of the IPL right from the very beginning. The leggie has made a telling contribution in KKR's performance over the years.
He is just 30 years of age as of now. In the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league, he will look to perform well and get in the national reckoning again. He is also just 10 wickets away from achieving a personal milestone of 150 wickets in IPL.
Prasidh Krishna is a young talent from Bengaluru who was identified by the KKR last season and proved to be a success after impressing with the ball with a spell of 4-30 which included a hat trick.
Krishna is a player to watch out for and can be a good prospect for India if he can continue what he did in his first season.
Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav and Lockie Ferguson
Kuldeep Yadav has been in great form with the ball as of late, and KKR will hope that he will be at his best in this IPL too. He may not play every match to manage the workload of the World Cup-bound players, but still is vital cog the DK led the side in this season.
Kuldeep is an important asset that any captain can have, but Dinesh Karthik needs to use his chinaman bowler much more carefully in this season.
Anrich Nortje could have been ideally the player that KKR would like to have, but with him being injured, Lockie Ferguson could be equally as effective as him. He could do the job that a Morne Morkel did a few years back for the KKR.
He is a regular feature for the Kiwis for the past couple of months, and KKR will benefit from it.
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