IPL 2021 preview: Will Eoin Morgan's experience be enough to lead a young Kolkata Knight Riders to glory?
Kolkata Knight Riders is a two-time champion of the Indian Premier League, having won both under Gautam Gambhir's leadership. While it has struggled to present itself as a proper title-contender, it is still one of the most-followed teams in the tournament.
FollowThere are numerous giants in the Indian Premier League, and Kolkata Knight Riders happens to be one of them. A former two-time champion under Gautam Gambhir, KKR has never really clicked in the past few seasons, despite having a promising squad.
Ever since Gambhir left the squad, the side has struggled to maintain consistency and mostly depends on other teams' performance at the season end to stand a chance for playoffs qualification. Nonetheless, there is no taking away from the fact that it continues to be one of the most-followed teams in the tournament, thanks to its ownership by Bollywood King Shah Rukh Khan.
As a new season approaches, KKR possesses the same intensity with its young-looking squad and talent, along with the necessary captaincy experience of Eoin Morgan. In the same light, we present the season preview of KKR.
Squad composition
Considering the KKR squad, one thing is for sure that it bolsters immense young talent, which has been its USP for a long time. As for the balance of the squad, it is a tide bowling-heavy, with 16 bowlers and 15 batsmen. Also, with no injury concerns so far, KKR has a settled squad. With 15 capped and ten uncapped players, KKR possesses the most uncapped talent in the entire competition.
Strengths and weaknesses
As per the squad composition, its strength has consistently been bowling, especially in the past few years. The capped talent in the bowling department is obviously more than the uncapped. While Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson and Prasidh Krishna are sure to make an impact, it would be interesting to see how Shakib Al Hasan, Harbhajan Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Pat Cummins fair. Among the uncapped bowlers, Varun Chakravarthy and Kamlesh Nagarkoti are the top draws.
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Also, another strength happens to be Morgan's captaincy. He has played a pivotal role in helping England become the number one T20 side in the world. Although leading an IPL side would be an entirely different story, he certainly has what it takes to attain success as a skipper, especially backing his players even when they are not performing. However, this same softness has often led to the downfall of his side as well.
Considering its batting, it has top talents, but consistency has always been its drawback. Shubman Gill, Hasan, Andre Russell, and Dinesh Karthik are the top contenders among the capped ones. As for the uncapped ones, watch out for Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Shivam Mavi.
Players to watch out
Gill: The Indian opener is undoubtedly one of the talented young openers across formats. Although he has been slightly off-colour recently, IPL happens to be one of his favourite platforms to showcase his talent, as he would desperately want to fire, keeping his Team India spot intact.
Russell: The all-rounder was a top draw in the entire competition a couple of seasons back, owing to his explosive batting abilities. Although he failed to get going last season, the new season gives him a fresh chance to showcase his abilities.
Kuldeep: The chinaman has been the man in focus for completely misfiring. Be it any format, he has failed miserably, leaking runs aplenty. It is high time that he proves his worth in the IPL to bring his international career back on track.
Krishna: The pacer has made a tremendous impact on India's debut in the just-concluded limited-overs leg against England. It would be essential for him to continue with the same momentum here as well.
IPL 2021 prediction
Considering the analysis above, KKR might fall back owing to its limited fore-power in the batting department. Although its bowling attack is unparallel, it alone cannot guide the side to glory. Also, with the tournament becoming high-scoring with each passing season, KKR's batsmen need to play with smartness to stand a chance at being proper title-contenders.
Newable prediction: Finishing third in Qualifier 2.
KKR squad for IPL 2021
Batsmen: Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Shubman Gill.
All-rounders: Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Pawan Negi, Venkatesh Iyer and Shivam Mavi.
Wicketkeepers: Dinesh Karthik, Sheldon Jackson and Tim Seifert.
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.
Pacers: Sandeep Warrier, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Vaibhav Arora and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
