IPL 2023 KKR franchise will be hoping to come up with a better show after a disappointing campaign last season. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who finished seventh in IPL 2022, retained key players and bought some quality overseas and domestic cricketers in the IPL auction.
IPL 2023 KKR Players
KKR will be keen to find an opening pair ahead of the new season. Ajinkya Rahane, who was let go by the franchise, and Venkatesh Iyer failed to give brisk starts in the 2022 edition. Both players scored just 300 runs between them. Venkatesh will likely open the batting along with the uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan bought in the IPL 2023 auction.
Nitish Rana and Shreyas Iyer are the two other key batters in the squad. The left-handed batter, who has also played for Mumbai Indians, hit two half-centuries in the previous season, while Shreyas led KKR’s batting charts with 401 runs. Uncapped Rinku Singh and overseas duo Andre Russell and David are expected to provide fireworks.
There is plenty of depth in KKR’s bowling department. Pace duo Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee claimed 16 and 14 wickets last season. Meanwhile, Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur are quality additions to the KKR roster. The spin-bowling department is full of quality players – Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Shakib Al Hasan.
The franchise will be hoping that Mandeep Singh, Litton Das, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and a few other uncapped domestic players will make the best use of their opportunities in the IPL 2023 season.
IPL KKR Players 2023
Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Tim Southee, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Suyash Sharma, Litton Das, Shardul Thakur, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nitish Rana, David Wiese, Narayan Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy
Kolkata Knight Riders Team Captain
Shreyas Iyer led Delhi Capitals to playoffs in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. However, he couldn’t inspire the Kolkata outfit to playoffs in his first season with the franchise. But the 28-year-old, who took over the captaincy from Eoin Morgan, is a proven leader, and the fans will be confident that the Mumbai-born cricketer can take KKR back to its glory days.
Shreyas will be keen to continue his exploits with the bat, as he was India’s leading run-getter for India across all formats in 2022. The top-order batter, who has made 101 appearances in IPL, is a few runs away from completing 3000 runs in the league.
Shreyas Iyer IPL Captaincy Record
Matches: 55, Won: 27, Lost: 26, Tied: 2
Head Coach
Former India wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit was appointed as KKR head coach in August 2022. He is taking over from Brendon McCullum, who took the vacant England Test cricket head coach role at the end of the IPL 2022 season. Pandit is one of the most successful coaches in the Indian domestic circuit.
The Mumbai-born coach made Madhya Pradesh the champions in Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season. He has won three Ranji Trophy titles with Mumbai and twice with Vidarbha. Pandit was Mandeep Singh-led India’s head coach in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup. He worked with Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer during his time with Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh.
IPL 2023 KKR Schedule
KKR began their IPL 2022 campaign with a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium. The franchise also won two of its next three games. However, the two-time champions lost five matches in a row. Despite winning three of their last five fixtures, KKR failed to make the playoffs.
Venue
KKR will look forward to playing at Eden Gardens for the first time since the 2019 season. The iconic venue hosted two matches last year but was qualifier 1 and the eliminator. In the 2019 edition, Kolkata managed only three wins in seven fixtures at Eden Gardens. The Knight Riders won their first two fixtures at home but failed to win any in the next four games.
KKR is still one of the powerhouses in the world’s best T20 league. After an unimpressive campaign last season, will the third most successive IPL franchise reach the top four in the 16th edition?
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times KKR won IPL?
KKR has won the IPL twice – 2012 and 2014 seasons
Who are the Bangladesh players playing in IPL 2023?
Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, and Mustafizur Rahman are the Bangladesh players playing in IPL 2023. Both Shakib and Litton will play for KKR.
What is Sunil Narine’s fastest IPL fifty?
Sunil Narine scored a 15-ball fifty against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2017 season.
