Kolkata Knight Riders predicted XI for IPL 2021

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) weren't one of the better teams in last year's Indian Premier League (IPL). They narrowly missed out on the playoffs, and even underwent a captaincy change midway through the season.

In the IPL 2021 auction, KKR snapped up experienced Indian cricketers Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh, Sheldon Jackson and Karun Nair. They also pulled off the steal of the auction by signing Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for just INR 3.2 crores.

Ben Cutting made his way to the team presumably as a backup for the injury-prone Andre Russell, while Vaibhav Arora joined the plethora of young Indian pacers already at the franchise. 26-year-old all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was also picked by KKR in the IPL 2021 auction.

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KKR's predicted playing XI for IPL 2021

This year's IPL is still months away, but we attempt to predict what KKR's ideal playing XI will look like.

KKR's squad for IPL 2021: Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi

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Openers: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi

Shubman Gill is the future of KKR

Shubman Gill is definitely going to be one half of the KKR opening combination in IPL 2021. The youngster scored 440 runs last season despite never having a settled partner, and is now an Indian team regular as well.

KKR opened with Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and Sunil Narine at different stages of IPL 2020, and none of the three truly made the spot their own. This year, if Rana opens, Karun Nair could be the one to slot in at No. 3.

But Nair is woefully out of form and KKR might be better off using Rana at the No. 3 role, leaving Tripathi to open the innings alongside Gill. The Maharashtra-born opener had his moments last season, including a superb 81 against the Chennai Super Kings in his first game at the top of the order. He will look to be more consistent this time around.

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Middle Order: Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Dinesh Karthik won't look back on his IPL 2020 campaign too fondly

Coming in at No. 3 will be Nitish Rana. The southpaw started off IPL 2020 with a series of starts, but failed to convert any of them into a big score. Just as it seemed like his season would be an utter disappointment, a move to an opening slot saw him notch up big fifties and ducks in alternating fashion.

Rana is another KKR batsman who'll aim to be more consistent this time around and not throw his wicket away after getting starts. He may even be needed to chip in with the ball.

Eoin Morgan didn't bat at No. 4 very often last year, but he and his team have learnt the hard way that the batting order can't be shuffled around too much. The English white-ball skipper will know that he needs to bat at his favourite position for the good of the team, and employ the other batsmen - Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell - lower down the order.

Karthik is at his best when he's finishing innings, both for KKR and the Tamil Nadu state team. The 35-year-old is coming off a highly disappointing IPL season in which spin proved to be his downfall more often than not, and he'll want to lead from the front even though he doesn't have the 'captain' tag associated with his name anymore.

Karthik is also the only Indian wicket-keeping option KKR have, and his fitness is of utmost importance to the team composition. Tim Seifert is the only backup KKR have, and their overseas combination will be greatly disturbed if the Kiwi must be fielded in the playing XI.

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All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins

Sunil Narine has competition from Shakib Al Hasan for the spin-bowling all-rounder role

KKR signed Shakib Al Hasan on a cut-price deal in the IPL 2021 auction, and he does have a case to replace the struggling Sunil Narine. But the West Indian has the complete backing of the KKR management, and should be given a long rope.

As a result, KKR will field their overseas trio of all-rounders - Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins. All three players had unsatisfactory campaigns in IPL 2020 due to different reasons - injury, action troubles, form and so on. They will want to justify the faith Brendon McCullum and Co. have shown in them.

The inclusion of Cummins means that Lockie Ferguson, who played well when called upon last season, will have to be on the bench. The Man of the Final in the 2016 IPL, Ben Cutting, will serve as Russell's backup.

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Bowlers: Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

There doesn't seem to be room for Kuldeep Yadav in the KKR playing XI

KKR rotated their young Indian pacers - Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Prasidh Krishna - throughout last season, and none of these bowlers have edged ahead of the others. However, the most likely to be picked from this trio are Mavi and Krishna.

While Mavi bowled superbly in the powerplay last season, Krishna has the extra pace and bounce to trouble batsmen. Nagarkoti, on the other hand, was used mainly in the middle overs, and KKR might not need the same if Russell is completely fit to bowl.

The final spot in the KKR playing XI will be taken up by their highest wicket-taker from IPL 2020, Varun Chakravarthy. The mystery spinner is currently recovering from an injury, but should still get the nod ahead of new signing Harbhajan Singh and the struggling Kuldeep Yadav.

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KKR's predicted playing XI for IPL 2021: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy