Kolkata Knight Riders Team profile

Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders had a big jolt before the start of the season as their skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the team's initial matches with an injury.

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Nitish Rana, who has been with KKR since 2018, replaced Iyer as the captain for the IPL 2023 season.

Iyer's comeback midway through the season can't be ruled out, but Rana will still have big shoes to fill for a team which has won the IPL twice, in 2012 and 2014, under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. The team also finished as the runner-up in Champions League T20 in 2014.

The team, however, would never reach the IPL final for a long time, but its dry run of a final appearance ended in 2021 when it came closer to winning the IPL title under the captaincy of Englishman Eoin Morgan.

However, Chennai Super Kings dashed KKR's hopes to win their third title.     

In IPL 2022, KKR failed to replicate their 2021's performance and couldn't cross the league stage. 

From their first IPL appearance till now, Kolkata have won 113 matches and lost 106 of their 223 matches for a winning percentage of 51.56. They have won one tiebreaker while losing three.  

In IPL 2023, Kolkata will be without their star player, Iyer.

It is still premature to say whether he will be available for the later stages of the tournament.

While their new skipper Raana has been with the team for five years, KKR will rely on West Indian Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.

While both are all-rounders, Narine is also their highest wicket-taker.

Russell has the highest strike rate as a batsman in the IPL, and his whirlwind innings can change the course of any match.

But his injury has been a cause for concern, and it is necessary that he be available for most of the matches. 

Kolkata have purchased Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and wicketkeeper batsman Litton Das.

They have also included all-rounder David Weisse and wicketkeeper batsman Narayan Jagadeesan.

New Zealander Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson will also strength the team as overseas players.    

KKR’s Record in IPL 2022:

Kolkata started off on a high note in IPL 2022, winning three of their first four matches, but their nightmarish run of five consecutive defeats dug their grave.

They tried to come out of dire straits with three wins in five matches, but by that time, they had landed in troubled waters and failed to move into the playoff stage.

Team captain: Nitish Rana 

Team coach: Chandrakant Pandit

Team owner: Red Chillies Entertainment 

Home ground: Eden Gardens (Kolkata)

KKR IPL 2023 Team:

IPL 2023 Kolkata Knight Riders (Full Players List): 

Captain: Nitish Rana

Batsmen: Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Narayan Jagadeesan, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh   

Bowlers: Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Harshit Rana, Tim Southee, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Vibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy 

All-rounders: David Wiese, Ankul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Shakib Al Hasan   

Most successful batsman: Gautam Gambhir (3,345 runs in 122 matches)

Most successful bowler: Sunil Narine (170 wickets in 157 matches)

KKR's first match in IPL 2023:

Kolkata Knight Riders opened their campaign against Punjab Kings at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 1 in the 3:30 PM match. Punjab won the match by 7 runs (DLS method).    

KKR team schedule IPL 2023: 

⦿ Match 1: April 1 - Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohali (3:30PM IST), PBKS won the match by 7 runs (DLS method)

⦿ Match 2: April 6 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata (7:30PM IST), KKR won by 81 runs

⦿ Match 3: April 9 - Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Ahmedabad (3:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 4: April 14 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 5: April 16 - Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai (3:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 6: April 20 - Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 7: April 23 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 8: April 26 - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Bengaluru (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 9: April 29 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, Kolkata (3:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 10: May 4 - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 11: May 8 - Kolkata Knight RIders vs Punjab Kings, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 12: May 11 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 13: May 14 - Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai (7:30PM IST)

⦿ Match 14: May 20 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)

Sponsors: Wrong, MyFab11, BKT,Lux Cozi

KKR IPL 2023 Squad:

Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Year signed
Shreyas Iyer (Captain)  India 6 December 1994 (age 28) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 2022
Rinku Singh  India 12 October 1997 (age 25) Left-handed Right-arm off break 2018
Anukul Roy  India 30 November 1998 (age 24) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox spin 2022
Andre Russell (Overseas)  West Indies 29 April 1988 (age 34) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 2014
Venkatesh Iyer  India 25 December 1994 (age 28) Left-handed Right-arm medium 2021
Nitish Rana (Captain)[56]  India 27 December 1993 (age 29) Left-handed Right-arm off break 2018
Sunil Narine (Overseas)  West Indies 26 May 1988 (age 34) Left-handed Right-arm off break 2012
Lockie Ferguson (Overseas)  New Zealand 13 June 1991 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm fast 2022
Varun Chakravarthy  India 29 August 1991 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 2020
Umesh Yadav  India 25 October 1987 (age 35) Right-handed Right-arm fast 2022
Tim Southee (Overseas)  New Zealand 11 December 1988 (age 34) Right-handed Right-arm medium fast 2021
Harshit Rana  India 22 December 2001 (age 21) Right-handed Right-arm fast medium 2022
Shardul Thakur  India 16 October 1991 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm fast medium 2023
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Overseas)  Afghanistan 28 November 2001 (age 21) Right-handed Right-arm medium fast 2023
N. Jagadeesan  India 24 December 1995 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm medium 2023
Vaibhav Arora  India 14 December 1997 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm fast medium 2023
Suyash Sharma  India 15 May 2003 (age 19) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 2023
David Wiese (Overseas)  Namibia 18 May 1985 (age 37) Right-handed Right-arm fast medium 2023
Kulwant Khejroliya  India 13 March 1992 (age 31) Left-handed Left-arm fast medium 2023
Mandeep Singh  India 18 December 1991 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm medium 2023
Litton Das (Overseas)  Bangladesh 16 February 1994 (age 29) Right-handed Right-arm off-spin 2023
Shakib Al Hasan (Overseas)  Bangladesh 24 April 1987 (age 35) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2023