IPL 2024 KKR Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders players list, full squad, probable XI, matches, schedule

After 2 titles in 3 years from 2012 to 2014, the IPL trophy has eluded the Kolkata Knight Riders since then. But the King's men are all set to try and end that 10-year drought with a formidable squad this time around.

It's a new-look KKR that will take the field in 2024 with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who missed the last season due to injury, back to lead the team.

They might not have Jason Roy, someone who did well for KKR last year, but they won't miss his quick starts as the Knight Riders have a like-for-like replacement in Phil Salt.

The man to watch out for this year will be Rinku Singh. He is no longer a fresher but has honed his skills even more after playing T20Is regularly for India.

Apart from Venkatesh Iyer at the top, the responsibility of the middle order will fall on Rinku, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana's shoulders before Andre Russell flexes his muscles down the order.

The bowling unit will be bolstered by Mitchell Starc, for Whom KKR shelled out ₹24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. He is likely to pair up with Chetan Sakariya, another pacer who was bought by the franchise this year.

Add to that a strong-headed Gautam Gambhir as their mentor with a magical head coach Chandrakant Pandit and KKR becomes a force to reckon with.

Strength

With Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy and a newly added Mujeeb Ur Rahman, KKR is probably the best spin-bowling unit in the IPL.

Weakness

Striking the right combination between Indian and foreign players might be a challenge for KKR. Given that Starc and Russell are likely to play all the games, KKR will be left with just 2 foreign slots.

They will have to choose between either Rahmanullah Gurbaz or Phill Salt as an opener. KKR is known to stick with Sunil Narine despite an average couple of seasons which will keep Mujeeb out of the equation.

Probable Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Chetan Sakariya, Varun Chakaravarthy. Impact Player: Suyash Sharma.

KKR schedule for IPL 2024
Schedule for only the first 21 matches of IPL 2024 have been announced so far

March 23: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, 7.30pm (IST)
March 29: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7.30pm (IST)
April 3: Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, 7.30pm (IST)

KKR IPL 2024 Full Squad:

Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Manish Pandey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ramandeep Singh, Nitish Rana, Sherfane Rutherford, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Phil Salt, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Vaibhav Arora, Dushmantha Chameera, Harshit Rana, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, Sakib Hussain