Nitish Rana has been with KKR since the 2018 season ©BCCI
Outlook
Welcome to yet another season of Kolkata Knight Riders pursuing a trophy that's evaded them since 2014. This time though, they faced a stiff challenge even before making it to the ground. There was this pressing matter of choosing a captain in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who remains on the sidelines with a back issue and with no guarantees of a return this season. But now that KKR are past that with the appointment of Nitish Rana, the team can look forward to the comforts of Eden Gardens, their home venue where they win over 60 percent of the games. If that's what it takes for them to finally end their trophy drought, the hard yards under the Kolkata sun might all be worth it.
Where they finished last year: Seventh. They lost more games than they won, a pattern they can't get themselves out of in the last four years.
What did they try to address in the mini-auction?
KKR needed a domestic wicket-keeping option, a back-up spin bowler and back-up batters. At the auction, they acquired Narayan Jagadeesan and Litton Das, both of whom can double up as a keeper and a top-order batter. They also bought left-armer Kulwant Khejroliya and legspinner Suyash Sharma in the backdrop of a forgettable last season for Varun Chakaravarthy. Middle order batter Mandeep Singh and all-rounders David Wiese and Shakib Al Hasan were their other notable buys.
Squad:
Shreyas Iyer (injured and doubtful), Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Nitish Rana, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Tim Southee, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Vaibhav Arora, N Jagadeesan, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan
Player to watch:
Varun Chakaravarthy endured his worst season last year, averaging over 55 for his six wickets across 11 matches. And with teams playing out Sunil Narine's overs safely, Varun's struggles reflected in how KKR were the second worst team behind SRH in terms of picking wickets with spin. The inability to strike in the middle overs also had a cascading effect, with well-set batters taking the KKR bowlers to task in the death overs. This year comes with its own challenges for Varun but if and how he bounces back will be a storyline to follow keenly.
Injuries and availability:
KKR are set to be without Shreyas at least at the start of the season. The 28-year-old had a sudden recurrence of back spasms during the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad and has been out of action ever since. Cricbuzz reported that Iyer, for the time being,
