The new season of Indian premier league is starting from 19th September in UAE. Cricket fans all over the world are eagerly waiting for this tournament to start. KKR is the third most successful team after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They have won two lPL titles under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir in the year 2012 and 2014. From the 2018 IPL season Dinesh Karthik became the skipper of KKR.
Let’s have a look at the SWOT analysis of KKR:
New Additions:
Eoin Morgan (5.25 crore), Pat Cummins (15.50 crore), Varun CV, Chris Green, Rahul Tripathi, Tom Banton, Pravin Tambe, M Siddharth, Nikhil Shankar Naik.
Players bought in: NINE
Full squad:
Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Praveen Tambe, Nikhil Naik.
Strengths:
KKR have got a great batting depth in their current squad. They have signed an explosive batsman from England in the form of Tom Banton. At the top of the order he can play a vital role for KKR along with Sunil Narine.
Both of them can take the game away from opposition very quickly. In the middle order they have got players like Dinesh Karthik, Eion Morgan, Nitesh Rana and Shubhman Gill. They can steady the ship for KKR if top order fails to deliver.
They have got tremendous power hitter in the form of Andre Russell. He emerged as a key player for KKR from previous two editions. They have got a great pace bowling department. They have included Pat Cummins who is the second most expensive (15.5 crore) player in the history of IPL.
They have got young Indian pacers in the form of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna and Shivam Mavi along with Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson.
Weaknesses:
KKR doesn’t have good spin bowling options in their squad. Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine are only two reliable spinners in their current squad. Kuldeep was out of form in the previous edition of IPL.
Sunil Narine is no longer a mystery bowler. Varun Chakravarthy is very young and he doesn’t have much experience of playing at the competitive level. So, KKR will be hoping for a good performance from Kuldeep and Narine.
Opportunities:
The youngsters in the team have great opportunity in their hands to do well at the big stage like IPL. Shivam Mavi, Shubhman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti represented Indian under-19 in the world cup. A good IPL for them will put them in contention for India’s limited overs team.
KKR have 2 IPL trophies in their bank. If they manage to win this year they can match the record of CSK. So far CSK have won a total three IPL trophies. They have got all the bases covered regarding batting and bowling. If they put the right team combination they have a good chance of winning this year’s IPL.
Threats:
An injuries to the main players has been one of their main concern for over the past few years. Chris Lynn and Russell got injured in the last season. They cannot afford to lose Russell due to injury.
He is their match finisher and game changer. As discussed earlier they doesn’t have great spin bowling options in their squad. An injury to one of their main spinner will put KKR on the back foot.
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