(Cricket news) KKR on paper don’t have a particularly strong XI especially in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. It is a start of a new era with Chandrakant Pandit as the head coach. Delhi batter Nitish Rana will captain the side until Shreyas Iyer returns. There is potential in this side but there are also areas which aren’t that strong. Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan will miss the start of the tournament and the middle part as well because of international duty.

KKR ideal playing XI:

Openers: Venkatesh Iyer & Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Venkatesh Iyer has vanished from the international scene ever since the return of Hardik Pandya. Now he comes into the tournament with a point to prove. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was a part of the GT squad last season but this time around with KKR he is likely to get a significant amount of games. 

Middle order: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh & Mandeep Singh 

This season is very important for Rinku Singh who has been playing good knocks in domestic cricket. He will be looking to play some big knocks to go with the cameos that he played last season. It will be interesting to see how Nitish Rana copes with the responsibility of captaincy. It is a 50/50 decision between Mandeep Singh and N Jagadeesan but the former should get the nod due to his experience 

All-rounders: Andre Russell & Sunil Narine

The two KKR legends from the West Indies look all set to be an integral part of the team. Russell’s big hitting will be essential but he might not bowl as much. Narine’s bowling has been consistent throughout the years and he will be leading the attack once again. 

Seamers: Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav & Lockie Ferguson

Umesh Yadav was incredible last season and he will be looking to do the same once again. Shardul Thakur was traded to the KKR and his ability to pick up wickets will be needed. Leaving out Tim Southee will be difficult but Lockie Ferguson’s pace just cannot be left on the bench. 

Spinner: Varun Chakrabarthy

Ever since the 2021 T20 World Cup, things haven’t gone too well for Varun Chakrabarthy. He will now be looking to bounce back but won’t get too many chances as another mystery spinner Suyash Sharma will be waiting for the opportunity.

Bench: Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan.

Also read: PBKS ideal playing XI under new captain Shikhar Dhawan