Kolkata Knight Riders have flattered to deceive ever since they won their last title in 2014. The franchise made it into the final of the 2021 edition but have not made the playoffs in the last two seasons.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer’s back injury hampered them last year with Nitish Rana leading the side in his absence. The team ended in seventh place, winning six of 14 games. They were particularly affected by a poor showing at home as they won only two matches at Eden Gardens.

KKR preview: Playing XIs, team news and more

*new buys in the auction

Batters

Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey*, Ramandeep Singh*, Nitish Rana, Sherfane Rutherford*, Rinku Singh

Wicketkeepers

KS Bharat*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt*

All-rounders

Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell

Bowlers

Vaibhav Arora, Dushmantha Chameera*, Harshit Rana, Mujeeb Ur Rahman*, Chetan Sakariya*, Mitchell Starc*, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, Angrish Raghuvanshi*, Sakib Hussain*

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 in IPL 2024: Team news and injury updates

The biggest news is the injury scare for captain Iyer. Iyer reportedly flared up his back injury while playing in the recent Ranji Trophy final and did not field for two days.

Reports suggest that Iyer is expected to miss a few games of the tournament while contrasting reports suggest he will be fit. An official confirmation is awaited.

Welcoming our Carribean Knights to Kolkata! 💜 pic.twitter.com/LIDyn39CvZ

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 16, 2024

KKR also had two players withdrawn ahead of IPL 2024. Jason Roy, who also represents the Knight Riders franchise in various other global T20 leagues, has pulled out and has been replaced by wicketkeeper Phil Salt. Salt’s presence solves several problems for KKR, giving them an overseas opener who can keep wickets.

Gus Atkinson also withdrew and was replaced by Dushmantha Chameera.

Mujeeb ur Rahman also injured himself ahead of the ODI series against Sri Lanka and there is no update on his fitness either.

Kolkata Knight Riders probable XIs with Impact player options

At home

The conditions in Kolkata have changed drastically over the years. From a slow, turning wicket, it now contains plenty of runs, which led to the franchise complaining about the lack of home advantage. There are reports, though, that the tracks could be slower this season, which will work to KKR’s advantage. If it is a slower wicket, the XI could be:

Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (if fit), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil, Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc

Impact player options: Manish Pandey

Away

Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (if fit), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil, Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc

Impact player options: Suyash Sharma

KKR do not have a lot of options on their bench. Manish Pandey’s batting is not as threatening as it used to be, which could make their choice of the Impact Player sub very tricky.