<p>Bengaluru: Kolkata Knight Riders, with three titles, are the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, who have five each. At the end of last year’s auction, they had every reason to believe they had assembled a squad capable of winning a fourth title.</p>.<p>The turn of events since then, however, has thrown their combination into disarray. It is almost as if someone has cast an evil spell on them. First, they lost Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman for reasons beyond their control. Then came an even bigger setback, with Harshit Rana being ruled out of the entire league due to a knee injury. Another Indian pacer, Akash Deep, suffered a similar fate, while Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is set to miss a significant number of matches.</p>.<p>Rana’s absence will hurt KKR the most, as he has been a key bowler with the ability to contribute useful runs down the order. In a side loaded with overseas batting talent, his unavailability disrupts the team balance because they don't have the same depth when it comes to overseas bowling options.</p>.<p>So how do they tide over this issue? One way would be to fall back on heavy spin options in Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Anukul Roy, who has had an excellent domestic season. For that they would need the pitches for home games to suit the trio, a luxury they weren't afforded last season. </p>.<p>Narine will need to be at his best with the ball, and a few cameos, depending upon where he bats, would greatly benefit KKR. They will also be hoping Chakravarthy, who looked out of sorts towards the back end of the T20 World Cup, regains his rhythm. </p>.<p>In away matches, KKR will perhaps have to adapt Sunrisers Hyderabad's approach of batting the opposition out of the game. And there is some serious firepower in their ranks. Finn Allen is a player who can change games in a matter of overs. Beyond him, there are Cameron Green, Tim Seifert and Rovman Powell who can give KKR flexibility and power. Not to mention skipper Ajinkya Rahane who was their standout performer both in terms of average and strike rate. But, with as many as five opening options, KKR face another dilemma of choosing their top two.</p>.<p>Green, who has endured a poor run of form in international cricket since his return following a prolonged break, is expected to do the role that Andre Russell executed so exceedingly well before his retirement after the last season. Coming with a price tag of Rs 25.2 crore -- the second highest behind Rishabh Pant's Rs 27 cr in the history of the league -- it remains to be seen if Green proves to be a value for money or just wilts under the weight of price-tag pressure. It's also not clear how much bowling he can do as Cricket Australia keep a close eye on the workload of their players. </p>.<p>Another player that can be crucial for KKR's fortunes is Rinku Singh, who has been underutilised in the last couple of seasons. He is too good a player to be wasted as a finisher who gets to face, on most occasions, a dozen balls or less. With Venkatesh Iyer no longer in their in their roster, KKR should bat Rinku no lower than five where he will have more opportunities of maxmising his potential.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>The squad</strong></span>: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana, Ramandeep Singh, Sourav Dubey, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Umran Malik, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Rahul Tripathi.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Best finishes</strong></span>: Champions (2012, 2014, 2024).</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Kolkata Knight Riders, with three titles, are the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, who have five each. At the end of last year’s auction, they had every reason to believe they had assembled a squad capable of winning a fourth title.</p>.<p>The turn of events since then, however, has thrown their combination into disarray. It is almost as if someone has cast an evil spell on them. First, they lost Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman for reasons beyond their control. Then came an even bigger setback, with Harshit Rana being ruled out of the entire league due to a knee injury. Another Indian pacer, Akash Deep, suffered a similar fate, while Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is set to miss a significant number of matches.</p>.<p>Rana’s absence will hurt KKR the most, as he has been a key bowler with the ability to contribute useful runs down the order. In a side loaded with overseas batting talent, his unavailability disrupts the team balance because they don't have the same depth when it comes to overseas bowling options.</p>.<p>So how do they tide over this issue? One way would be to fall back on heavy spin options in Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Anukul Roy, who has had an excellent domestic season. For that they would need the pitches for home games to suit the trio, a luxury they weren't afforded last season. </p>.<p>Narine will need to be at his best with the ball, and a few cameos, depending upon where he bats, would greatly benefit KKR. They will also be hoping Chakravarthy, who looked out of sorts towards the back end of the T20 World Cup, regains his rhythm. </p>.<p>In away matches, KKR will perhaps have to adapt Sunrisers Hyderabad's approach of batting the opposition out of the game. And there is some serious firepower in their ranks. Finn Allen is a player who can change games in a matter of overs. Beyond him, there are Cameron Green, Tim Seifert and Rovman Powell who can give KKR flexibility and power. Not to mention skipper Ajinkya Rahane who was their standout performer both in terms of average and strike rate. But, with as many as five opening options, KKR face another dilemma of choosing their top two.</p>.<p>Green, who has endured a poor run of form in international cricket since his return following a prolonged break, is expected to do the role that Andre Russell executed so exceedingly well before his retirement after the last season. Coming with a price tag of Rs 25.2 crore -- the second highest behind Rishabh Pant's Rs 27 cr in the history of the league -- it remains to be seen if Green proves to be a value for money or just wilts under the weight of price-tag pressure. It's also not clear how much bowling he can do as Cricket Australia keep a close eye on the workload of their players. </p>.<p>Another player that can be crucial for KKR's fortunes is Rinku Singh, who has been underutilised in the last couple of seasons. He is too good a player to be wasted as a finisher who gets to face, on most occasions, a dozen balls or less. With Venkatesh Iyer no longer in their in their roster, KKR should bat Rinku no lower than five where he will have more opportunities of maxmising his potential.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>The squad</strong></span>: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana, Ramandeep Singh, Sourav Dubey, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Umran Malik, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Rahul Tripathi.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Best finishes</strong></span>: Champions (2012, 2014, 2024).</p>
