Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions. This year during the Auctions they splashed the cash to bring Venkatesh Iyer back into the fold. The 29-year-old was paid INR 23.75 Crores making him the third costliest player to be purchased this year.
Apart from Venkatesh Iyer, KKR also purchased South African duo Quinton De Kock and Anrich Nortje. Some of the players who were let go were also purchased like Afghanistan star Rahmanullah Gurbaz, along with Indian uncapped duo Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Vaibhav Arora.
Fans are already excited to see how some of the star players perform for the side. Kolkata had already retained star names like Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Sunil Narine.
Here are the 3 possible opening combinations for KKR during IPL 2025
3- Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Quinton De Kock
Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been opening the batting for Mumbai in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. The right-handed batter has been impressing everyone with his performances with the bat and his big hitting ability. Quinton De Kock has been one of the most dangerous openers in the IPL. The South African star has the ability to take the game away from the opposition on his day in the powerplay overs. The duo could be a nightmare for any bowling unit on their day.
2- Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine
On paper this seems an unlikely pair but stranger things have happened in cricket. Ajinkya Rahane was brought in the final rounds of the auction and the 36-year-old Mumbai skipper is a veteran in the league. Rahane might not be part of Indian set up right now but his batting in the IPL has been exemplary. His feats during the IPL 2023 season earned him a recall back into the Indian side. Sunil Narine is known to be a swashbuckling batter and his century during the IPL 2024 season shows the threat he carries with the bat.
1- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine
Kolkata would want to keep their right and left-hand batting combination going as it paid them rich dividends during IPL 2024. Last year Phil Salt and Sunil Narine played a key role in KKR winning the title with their tremendous starts with the bat. Rahmanullah Gurbaz came into equation after Salt left for England duties and scored fifties during the knockout phases and helped KKR win the title. His batting with Sunil Narine in the first six overs makes Kolkata a formidable outfit.
Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.
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