Be it finding the opening combination, middle-order or finisher, Kolkata struggled for stability in the last edition in the UAE. A change in captaincy midway through the competition didn’t help it either. With its Caribbean superstars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine failing to fire, KKR missed the play-offs for a second time in a row.

Despite coming on the back of a poor run, Kolkata can bank on Eoin Morgan, one of the most astute brains. The English World Cup-winning captain, who took over the role after seven matches in the last IPL edition, was one of the few bright spots.

KKR retained as many as 17 players from the previous season and made some smart buys at the auction. With the purchase of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Ben Cutting, Kolkata has the much-needed backups for Narine and Russell. The franchise has a settled pace attack, which will be spearheaded by Pat Cummins. The Australian will have the company of Kiwi Lockie Ferguson, India international Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

Once its strength, spin bowling has been a cause of concern for KKR of late. Left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav has not been in the best of form, while Narine looks a shadow of his old self. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy took up the responsibility in Narine’s absence last term, scalping 17 wickets.

However, the Tamil Nadu spinner’s fitness has come under the scanner. In case the frontline spinners don’t make an impact, Kolkata could turn to Harbhajan Singh and Shakib. Another area which KKR would like to massively improve is its middle-order batting.

A key member of the side, Dinesh Karthik would look to come up with improved performances with the bat. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi could also have key roles to play. KKR has made some interesting signings in Venkatesh Iyer and Vaibhav Arora, who will be keen to do well if presented an opportunity.

Having failed to reach the last-four stage in the previous two editions, Kolkata’s primary objective would be to reach the play-offs.