Friday 29 March 2013

IPL Team Preview - 4) Kolkata Knight Riders


They inaugurated the IPL stage with some fire, then fizzed out, but last year with their new look side as well as captain they won the IPL title. This time also, they look like one of most balanced sides of the tournament and would go into the tournament as one of favourites with the added pressure tag of “defending champions”

The Local Talent – Some big names & some not so big
They have a few big name like G Gambhir & the inconsistent destructor Y Pathan, he would surely be looking to turn things around after a disappointing couple of seasons. M Tiwary, D Das, M Bisla, R Bhatia, L Balaji, I Abdulla & LR Shukla are some of the reasonably well established options in this format.

The Overseas Talent – Plenty of Allrounders & some specialists
They have the best allrounders in the game, i.e. J Kallis & Shakib Al Hasan. R Doeschate & R Mc Laren provide adequate backup options. B McCullum is very destructive and is in great form, he would be looking to carry his form into the IPL. S Narine, the mystery spinner was instrumental to their success in the last IPL. Will the mystery be unraveled this IPL ? Only time can tell. B Lee, J Pattinson, S Senanayake & E Morgan are some of their specialists providing adequate resources in all of the departments. 

Injury Concerns & The Srilankan Impact – G Gambhir has jaundice but is expected to recover in time for the IPL. No major impact on the Srilankan player front.

Likely XI – 1) B McCullum, 2) J Kallis, 3) G Gambhir, 4) M Tiwary, 5) YK Pathan, 6) D Das / M Bisla, 7) R Bhatia 8) LR Shukla / I Abdulla, 9) B Lee, 10) L Balaji, 11) S Narine 

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