PBKS vs KKR Preview: Injury-hit sides aim for positive start in IPL 2023

Plagued by injuries and the unavailability of a few foreign players, both Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will look to put their best foot forward in their IPL 2023 opener on Saturday.

With Shreyas Iyer still nursing a back injury, KKR appointed Nitish Rana as their captain, while Shikhar Dhawan will be at the helm of affairs for Punjab.

Though Punjab will miss the services of several key foreign players, the availability of Sam Curran and Matthew Short could boost their chances against an all-rounders-rich KKR.

KKR vs PBKS head-to-head

However, Kolkata will take confidence from their head-to-head record against Punjab. In 30 matches played between the two sides, KKR have won 20 matches while Punjab won 10 games.

Mohali weather update

The Mohali weather could play spoilsport on Saturday as there is 60 percent chance of rainfall at the start of the match.

Also read: IPL 2023: Lucknow's home debut at Ekana Stadium - LSG vs DC Preview and Team news

PBKS team news

• Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the entire IPL
• Liam Livingstone will miss Saturday's game as he is yet to get clearance from the ECB.

KKR team news

• Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das will also miss the opening game due to national commitments.

KKR vs PBKS Playing XI probables

KKR possible Playing XI

N. Jagadeesan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nitish Rana, Mandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson

PBKS possible Playing XI

Shikhar Dhawan, Matthew Short, Prabsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar