The Knight Riders were pretty impressive last season under their new skipper Dinesh Karthik. They were able to qualify for the playoffs even after losing quite some players to injuries. But this season they seem to have learnt from their past mistakes and went into the auction to rope in backups for the 13 man squad they had retained and also bought a pair of foreign quicks to secure what one would call a balanced squad.
Let us have a look at their squad and see how far the Kolkata think tank has succeeded in securing a balanced squad.
OPENERS:
The opening pair of Kolkata has the been the most devastating the league has seen. It is not Chris Lynn who has been the aggressor but it is the homegrown opener of Kolkata, Sunil Narine who has done the most damage. Narine went on from being just a spinner to a formidable opening batsman who has instilled fear in the minds of the best bowlers in the business. If the Lynn will is back this season, then this pair would be unstoppable. The Knight Riders also have Robin Uthappa who could open if Lynn leaves early for World Cup preparations and we
all know what Robin can do when it is his day. In short, the top order of Kolkata
looks quite solid and can be a nuisance for other teams.
MIDDLE ORDER:
The Kolkata has always boasted of a strong middle order and this season is no different. They have prolific players like Nitish Rana, U19 star Shubman Gill, skipper Dinesh Kartik and the Windies hard hitter, Andrew Russell. It was this middle order of theirs which propelled them into the playoffs last season and this year the fans expect a similar performance. Addition of Windies T20 skipper Carlos Brathwaite to the team provides a backup for the injury-prone Russell.
The Knight Riders also have the services of Englishman Joe Denly in case the big names failed. The inclusion of attacking keeper batsman Nikhil Naik gives an all-around look to their batting unit.
BOWLERS:
The Kolkata Knight Riders own two of the best spinners in the league. They are none other than Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav. Although Kuldeep was not much effective last season for KKR he went on become the highest wicket-taker for the national team in the shortest format of the game. Kolkata also has the services of experienced leggie Piyush Chawla who seems to be getting better every season.
The main concern for the East Indian franchise will be their pace battery. Although they boast the likes of Subham Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and the Kiwi quick Lockie Ferguson, all of them lack the experience of playing in such a competitive league. Although the Indian U19 stars Subham Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti played last season and showed glimpses of what they are capable of one can never say when pressure would have the better of these youngsters. The recent buys Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Anrich Nortje are no doubt good players but they lack the experience of playing in the subcontinent.
The Kolkata squad looks all good on paper but it is the on-field performance which matters. Although it would be too early to comment on how the team would perform it won’t be any wrong to say that their choices of foreign quicks are very underwhelming.
