Knight Riders look for dawn
Without captain fantastic, do Kolkata Knight Riders have enough firepower in their arsenal to set up a title challenge? KARTHIK RAMAN analyses SRK's warriors to see where it stands among the other heavyweights
Kolkata Knight Riders had an auction to forget earlier this year. After bidding high in the auction initially, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side found the going tough in the latter part of the bidding.
One of the standout names to depart the side was their consistent run provider Gautam Gambhir.
In their maiden title winning campaign (2012), Gambhir scored 590 runs at a very good strike rate of 144. It also included a staggering six fifties. He is a huge loss for the side and now they have to rely on their overseas players to keep them in the runs.
The explosive Australian Chris Lynn will be backed to fill that void. He has been a prolific performer in Big Bash League. Coach Jacques Kallis will hope that he carries on his Brisbane Heat form to the Bengal capital side.
Even though Kolkata will hope that Dinesh Karthik will be a direct replacement for the Delhi-based Gambhir, they know that it will be a difficult task for the wicket-keeper batsman to make up for those runs.
Besides, considering the fact that Karthik bats lower down the order, it will be unlikely to see him produce many big innings in this form of the game.
The last ball six against Bangladesh in the Tri-series Final will give Karthik immense confidence.
As a result of his late blitzkrieg, he instantly became the toast of the nation. So Kolkata fans will be delighted to have the 'Man of the moment' in their squad. Having said that will they be content to see him replace their prolific run-machine and former skipper Gambhir is another question.
Spin threat
The team's biggest strength lies in their spin department. Apart from their ever-reliable Sunil Narine, they also posses Indian spin wizard Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla.
Narine in particular has been their main threat in the bowling department. He has played a crucial role in both the titles KKR won.
His ability to pick up wickets at crucial juncture is an added bonus for their side. He has taken 95 wickets at an average of 21.38 in 82 matches.
Narine's ability to bat will also come in handy for the side. Due to his capability to score quick runs, lately Narine has been promoted higher up the order. There has even been occasions on which he has opened the innings for the SRK-owned team.
KKR will back on him to deliver the goods yet again.
Kuldeep had an impressive South African tour and instantly became a household name after bamboozling opponent batsmen throughout the limited overs format.
He carried that form into the Tri-series and will be expected to maintain it in favourable Indian conditions.
Chawla is another consistent performer for the team and being an Indian he can be ever present without having to worry about the foreign player quota. Although it will be interesting to see how many matches he will play, considering Kuldeep and Narine will be regulars in the side. It is not yet sure whether they will play with three spinners consistently in their starting line-up.
His ability to bat will also be an added bonus for them.
As far as the pace department is concerned, the team's attack will be spearheaded by former Australian explosive fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.
In his prime days, he ruled the cricketingbehaviour world with the ball. Now deprived of regular cricket due to his international retirement, it is not sure whether Johnson still has that magic left in him. Nonetheless, his experience will come in handy for the team.
Apart from him, Karnataka's skipper Vinay Kumar is someone to watch out for. He has been in good form in domestic cricket of late.
The biggest blow for them will be in the form of Mitchell Starc pulling out of the tournament, owing to an injury.
His replacement will be England fast bowler Tom Curran. Considered an exciting prospect, Curran is known for his yorkers and timely slow balls.
Teenage sensations
Among the buys during the auction, the ones which caught the public's eyes were that of the three U-19 players procured by the squad.
Young pacers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi turned the heads of the bowling fraternity towards them by regularly touching the 140kmph limit during the U-19 World Cup. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the much talked about T20 league.
Shubman Gill had a commendable World Cup, playing a key part in the team's title victory.
Although it is not yet clear whether they will live up to the expectations, considering IPL is a step up for them, especially with so many proven overseas stars plying their trade in it.
It might either be a step too soon for the youngsters or they might just flourish in the cricketing extravaganza and announce their arrival to the international cricket.
Batting lacks depth
With Gambhir's departure, a lot will depend on Lynn to consistently score runs from the top order. He will be expected to give the side good starts at the top and lay the proper foundation.
The young Gill could be the other opener and it is still not clear how he will keep up to this level against internationally acclaimed bowlers.
The No 3 position is normally occupied by the ever-reliable Robin Uthappa.
A lot will also rely on him to score the runs regularly with Gambhir out of the equation. He might even be pushed higher up the order to open the innings alongside Lynn.
They are followed by Karthik and Nitish Rana in the middle.
Rana has been decent so far for Kolkata, while Karthik will be brimming with confidence to the lead the side for the first time. The wicket-keeper batsman could also play higher up the order compared to his usual lower middle order slots.
Other than that West Indian all-rounders Andre Russell and Narine can be expected to contribute a bit with the bat.
However, beyond them the side lacks proper depth. Their inability to buy couple more batsmen could come to haunt them in the later part of the tournament.
The absence of Manish Pandey and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be another telling factor for them.
Moreover, they have the lightest squad size - 19 players. It might prove difficult for them to rotate the squad regularly to keep their players fit.
It will take a momentous task from Kallis-coached side to even reach the playoffs.
If they are to do it then it will depend more on their bowling than their batting.