Kolkata Knight Riders: A rebuild reliant on availability and combinations

From last season, Andre Russell is no longer around to finish games with bat and ball, and how much Cameron Green, the most expensive overseas pick ever, can fill that gap could really decide how far into the tournament they go.

Since the auction, when KKR stocked up on openers, keepers and overseas quicks, injuries have had a big say. Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman, their second and third-most expensive buys in Abu Dhabi, are both unavailable; Pathirana for the first few matches and Mustafizur for the entire season. Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are out of the season as well. The pace cupboard looks thin even before a ball has been bowled but KKR will hope the damage is front-loaded and not an omen.

It has been a sharp fall for KKR, going from champions in 2024 to finishing eighth last year. The decision to move on from their title-winning captain also seemed to take with it their grip on tight games and pressure moments. The clearest example came in New Chandigarh, ironically against a Shreyas Iyer-led side, when they needed 112 to top the group but slipped from 62/2 to 95 all out instead, handing PBKS the lowest total ever defended in the IPL. But it wasn't limited to just that match. Similar, if less dramatic, stumbles showed up in close games against LSG and CSK too.

Their season of near-misses showed in the numbers with the bat. KKR hit the fewest sixes, had the lowest average and the second-lowest strike rate. They scored quickly in the Powerplay but slowed once the field spread, with the middle order (Nos. 3-8) striking at 144.6, the second-worst among all teams. Going into this new season, KKR will be keen to treat those trends as a blip, not a shift in identity.

Matheesha Pathirana will need to clear fitness tests before Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) grants him an NOC, and KKR are willing to wait. With Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Mustafizur unavailable for the season, the likes of Blessing Muzarabani and Vidarbha left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey have joined the side as replacements.

Despite Eden Gardens not quite aligning with their strengths, much to Rahane's frustration last season, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine continued to deliver. KKR's spin unit picked up 36 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 24.91 and an economy of 7.8, numbers that kept them among the most effective attacks in the tournament.

The opener addresses a clear gap from last season, when KKR never quite got going at the top, with no 50-plus opening stand and an average of 22.33. Allen's 33-ball hundred in the T20 World Cup semifinal, at KKR's home venue of all places, showed how quickly he can change the tone of an innings. If he comes off, it will give KKR something they rarely had last year: a start they can build on.

Even if the fast-bowling stocks look thin, the spinners can still carry this side, especially if Eden Gardens plays along. The bigger question is how the batting, and so much of it, fits together.

There is no clear top-order template. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert cannot both play, with Narine, Pathirana (when fit) and Green taking up the three overseas slots. Narine may or may not open, and if he does not, the batting order is too right-hand heavy at the top. Then there is the question of where Ajinkya Rahane fits. If he bats No. 3, where his returns last season were at best mixed, it pushes in-form Angkrish Raghuvanshi down the order. Despite the injury concerns, this is a squad that allows for many permutations and combinations, and KKR will hope to land on the right one before it's too late.

The 21-year-old did not have the best of domestic seasons, managing just 49 runs from four matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But he seems to find a different rhythm in the KKR setup, now coached by his mentor Abhishek Nayar. The spark was already on display in the intra-squad match, when he blasted a 55-ball 103*. The noise is coming from within the camp too, with KKR assistant coach Shane Watson saying, "Don't be surprised if he shoots the lights out this IPL."

KKR's jersey launch video featured a traffic light stuck on 49. It was a subtle reference to RCB's 49 all out at Eden Gardens in 2017, which remains the lowest total in IPL history and a memory KKR clearly do not mind revisiting. This year's fixture will hardly need a reminder again.

Click here to read article