IPL 2023: Match 33, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Playing XI vs Chennai Super Kings

After losing three back-to-back matches in the ongoing IPL 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be hosting Chennai Super Kings on April 23 at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium. However, ahead of that, the two-time champions have a lot of things that they need to address immediately. Their batting has been really poor so far and even after trying a lot of combinations, openers seem to flop in every match. 

Check Here👉 KKR vs CSK Live Score and Updates

When it comes to the bowlers, they have done reasonably well so far. However, Sunil Narine’s form is a bit of a concern. He is leaking a lot of runs and hasn’t been at his best. Skipper Nitish Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, and Anukul Roy picked up two wickets each in the last match and thus, their spin department looks more or less sorted.

The same however cannot be said about their pace attack. Overall, will there be any strategic change in their team, just like in the last match? Let’s dissect -

Here's Kolkata Knight Riders predicted XI against Chennai Super Kings:

Openers: Jason Roy, Litton Das (wk)

The opening combination of Jason Roy and Litton Das failed to live up to the expectation in the last match. The Bangladesh international started his IPL journey with a beautiful boundary in the last match against Delhi Capitals but unfortunately, that’s all he did in his debut match.

He missed a couple of stumping chances towards the fag end of the match and thus, it was overall a very poor performance from him. Despite so, Das has the capability to turn things around and might make the most of the opportunity against CSK if he gets one.

When it comes to Jason Roy, the flamboyant cricketer had very little to do in the last match. With wickets falling from one end, he had the responsibility to play the role of an anchor - which is very much against his nature.

In the end, the England international managed to score only 43 runs off 39 deliveries but given his talent, he can do much better. At Eden Gardens, where the ball comes nicely on to the bat, Roy will be gunning to take on CSK.

Middle Order: Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh

After scoring a terrific century against Mumbai Indians, Venkatesh Iyer failed to capitalise against Capitals. However, he is playing well this season and has managed to score 234 runs in six matches so far.

With that, he is seventh on the IPL 2023 Orange Cap list and thus, will be hoping to continue in the same manner. It will also be interesting to see how he deals with CSK bowlers, who are in brilliant form at the moment.

Skipper Nitish Rana hasn’t been at his absolute best with the bat in the ongoing season. Other than his 75-run knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he hasn’t been able to prove himself in the middle.

However, the cricketer picked up two wickets in the match against DC and that will give him a lot of confidence leading into the game against CSK. With spin being one of KKR’s biggest strengths, it will be interesting to see how the cricketer uses himself.

When it comes to Rinku Singh, the cricketer started really well but hasn’t fired with the bat in the last two matches. However, the team will not be worried much as Rinku is one of the best players they have in the mix. He has proved himself with the bat and only needs some backing from the management at the moment.

All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur

Andre Russell is yet to show his class in the ongoing tournament. The all-rounder has chipped in from time to time but he hasn’t helped Kolkata win any of the matches so far.

Notably, in the last match, when all the other batters went back to the pavilion, Russell stitched an important 31-run partnership with Varun Chakravarthy, to help KKR post 127 runs on board. He smacked three massive sixes in the final over and thus, he should back himself to do the same against CSK.

Sunil Narine hasn’t been at his best in the ongoing season. The spin wizard started well with the ball but in the last few matches, he has leaked a lot of runs and with the bat, he hasn't been his vintage self. Thus, it won’t be surprising if the KKR management drops him and brings David Weise into the mix. However, against CSK, he is very likely to play. 

Shardul Thakur is very likely to make his return to the playing XI. Against DC, the all-rounder was dropped but at Eden Gardens, where the pacers get some advantage, he can be a good addition. Even with the bat, Thakur can wreak havoc in the final few overs and thus the KKR management is unlikely to keep him on the bench.

Bowlers - Suyash Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

The duo of Suyash Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy has done a commendable job so far in the season. Since Sunil Narine hasn’t been able to perform so far, the pressure has been on Suyash and Varun to deliver and they have.

Notably, Varun has picked up nine wickets in six matches so far in the competition while Suyash has picked up six wickets in four matches. Thus, the duo can very well trouble the visiting team on Sunday.

When it comes to Umesh Yadav, the ace pacer will look forward to improving. He hasn’t been at his best so far in the competition and that is concerning. However, KKR management will not drop him since he has a lot of experience in this format.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Playing XI:

Jason Roy, Litton Das (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Impact Players

N Jagadeesan, Anukul Roy, Mandeep Singh, Tim Southee, David Wiese