JOIN USKKR desperate to turn fortunes around post a tough transition
Two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be striving for consistency in its bid to recreate old magic which has been lost during a difficult phase of rebuilding lost post Gautam Gambhir's departure.
Be it the opening combination, middle-order or finding a finisher, KKR struggled for stability in the last edition in the UAE, while a change of captaincy at the halfway stage did not help them either.
Add the floundering forms of their two biggest Caribbean stars -- a half-fit Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who is not even half the bowler after being repeatedly called for suspect action, KKR missed the playoffs for a second time in a row in the Gambhir era.
Here's is a SWOT analysis of the side that will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their season-opener in Chennai on April 11.
Strengths:
In Eoin Morgan, his first stint as full-time KKR captain, the Purple Brigade have got one of the most astute brains of the white-ball format. The English World Cup-winning skipper, who took over the role after seven games last season, was one of the bright spots for the team in 2020. The left-hander struck 418 runs in 14 innings at an average of 41.80 and also hit the most sixes (24), giving impetus in the death overs with his cameos.
KKR have made some smart additions to their squad in the mini-auction, apart from retaining their core of the side - 17 players - despite a disappointing season.
By bringing back Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan and signing man-of-the-match of the 2016 IPL Final Ben Cutting, they have got the much-needed back-ups for the Windies duo of Narine and Russell, who failed to fire last season.
KKR will also be buoyed by the smash-hit international debut of Prasidh Krishna, who took 4/54 in the first ODI against England in the recently-concluded series.
This would also mean that KKR have a settled pace attack spearheaded by Aussie superstar Pat Cummins with Lockie Ferguson as the back-up option.
Weaknesses:
Once their strength, KKR of late have struggled in the spin department. Left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is a shadow of his past self and returned with just one wicket in five matches, of which he was not given the ball in one.
One of the architects of their twin triumphs in 2012 and 2014 under Gambhir, Sunil Narine is also floundering. Narine's action once again came to haunt him in 2020 as he was warned about a suspect action and went on to miss four matches. Before that, he had to be pulled out of the CPL final for Trinbago Knight Riders as he was found to be chucking.
It was Varun Chakravarthy, another mystery spinner and a Tamil Nadu architect-turned-cricketer, who took up the responsibility in Narine's absence to finish with the most wickets - 17 - for KKR.
However, Chakravarthy's fitness has come under the scanner time and again since then. It remains to be seen how he shapes up for IPL 2021.
Opportunities:
Having decided to step away from being captain to "focus on his batting", Dinesh Karthik will look to make amends in 2021.
The seasoned duo of Shakib-Al-Hasan and veteran Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh will also look to make the most of the limited opportunities that come their way on the slow tracks on offer in Delhi and Chennai.
KKR have two new, interesting uncapped signings in Venkatesh Iyer and Vaibhav Arora, who will also look to grab their opportunities.
Left-hand Madhya Pradesh batsman Iyer is fresh from a blistering 146-ball 198 against Punjab in the Vijay Harare Trophy.
Himachal Pradesh medium-pacer Arora is in the form of his life after taking a hat-trick on debut against Maharashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Threats:
KKR would need opener Shubman Gill to give them better starts this year in the Powerplay overs. Gill consumed a lot of deliveries up front in most games, which did put extra pressure on the middle order.
The Morgan-led side would look to ensure that they get a winning combination, something that eluded them last time as they would be desperate to make the play-off cut.
The KKR squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi.