Kolkata Knight Riders on IPL 2024 : Predictions and Headliners
After spending 24.75 crore (£2.3 million) to acquire Mitchell Starc, Kolkata Knight Riders will undoubtedly receive a lot of attention. Starc is an Australian who hasn’t played in the IPL since 2015. They could expect plenty of wickets at that price, as well as a significant effect during the powerplay and dying overs.
With the ball, Varun Chakravarthy will also be the center of attention because he led the KKR in wicket-taking the previous season. In three of the last four seasons, the spinner has claimed at least 17 wickets.
Andre Russell, who has played in nearly 500 Twenty20 matches and has a career strike average of more than 170 in the Indian Premier League, is their most reliable hitter. Shreyas Iyer is back after missing the 2023 season. Four out of the last five years have seen him score at least 400 runs.
Something to observe
In 2023, Rinku Singh came as a welcome surprise. He amassed a team-high 474 runs at a strike rate of almost 150, including four half-centuries, and became a middle-order boundary hitter.
With two half-centuries and a strike rate above 175 in T20Is since August 2023, he has demonstrated glimpses of his potential and has been rewarded with 15 T20I caps for India. A T20 World Cup is approaching, which means that the next several months will be crucial.
Why the IPL will go to them
With Russell and the returning Shreyas Iyer joining Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, and Singh—all of whom amassed 400+ runs with strike rates above 140—KKR have an intriguing batting lineup. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Phil Salt, both of whom strike beyond 150, will probably compete for the gloves, while Sherfane Rutherford, a West Indies iplwin apk international, is an additional choice. Who to omit is the difficult part.
Their spin attack is also highly impressive, as Chakravarthy is accompanied by Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman and mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who has amassed over 160 wickets in his IPL career at an economy of less than seven.