The Bengal giants have been earmarked as the weakest team in the league going into the competition next week. The recent injury of Mitchell Starc, which ruled him out of the IPL this season, coupled with the frequent injury issues of star players Chris Lynn, Mitchell Johnson has led to a series of pessimism ahead of their campaign, this season. Therefore, KKR definitely need to work as a unit this year if they are to get their hands on the coveted IPL trophy yet again this season. We will talk about five players who will be vital for KKR in this edition of the IPL.
5. Kamlesh Nagarkoti
The best Under-19 bowler for India, Kamlesh Nagarkoti's incredible performance in the recent Under-19 World Cup, forced KKR to splash 3.2 crores on this Indian speedster. While Indian fans would fancy any bowler who can bowl at 140-kmph, they were stunned when the duo of Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti started clocking up the 145-kmph mark at Bay Oval, New Zealand.
4. Kuldeep Yadav
Following the deterioration of Sunil Narine, largely due to his changed bowling action, the onus will be on young Kuldeep Yadav to deliver the magical touch in the spin department. The 23-year-old has come a long way since his breakout, a few years ago and has recently emerged as one of India's brightest young talents, in the bowling department.
3. Chris Lynn
Lynn is expected to open the innings for KKR this term, where he will be partnered by either of Robin Uthappa or Sunil Narine. The 27-year-old attains an impressive strike rate of 158.02 in his 12 matches in IPL so far and that is sure to improve this season.
2. Dinesh Karthik
The creator of Eight-ball- destruction, Dinesh Karthik acknowledged that he has an onerous task of replacing a very successful KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir. KKR think tank chose not to retain two-time IPL winning skipper Gambhir and handed the reins of the team to the Tamil Nadu batsman, bought for Rs 7.4 crore.
1. Andre Russell
The 29-year-old has already reached Kolkata, earlier this week and most importantly, he has also recovered from his injury, meaning he will be a vital cog as KKR look to impose their dominance in this edition of the IPL.
