IPL 2023: Match 13, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Playing XI vs Gujarat Titans

After decimating Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous match in IPL 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will now take on defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

Now, even though KKR are coming after a massive win, they have a lot of concerns at the moment. Opener Mandeep Singh has failed to make a mark so far while skipper Nitish Rana is yet to show his class with the bat. On the other hand, Venkatesh Iyer has been an absolute flop so far.

Spinners meanwhile have exceeded all expectations and have been remarkable so far. The same cannot be said for the pacers though. Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee have been average and it will be interesting to see if the team management changes its strategy and brings someone else into the mix or backs the same playing XI. 

Here's Kolkata Knight Riders’ predicted XI against Gujarat Titans

Openers: N Jagadeesan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)

Young Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz was sensational against Bangalore. When wickets were tumbling at one end, Gurbaz played some brilliant cricket to keep the boat floating.

His 57-run knock off 44 deliveries was extremely crucial and because of the same, KKR was in a much better place despite losing five wickets. Now, against his former franchise, Gurbaz would aim to repeat the same and give the two-time champions a perfect start.

Narayan Jagadeesan is very likely to open for KKR in the upcoming match. Neither Mandeep Singh nor Venkatesh Iyer has been able to prove their mettle at the top of the order and thus, the team management can try Jagadeesan in the middle.

He is very consistent in 50-overs cricket but in T20 cricket, the Coimbatore-born cricketer takes some time and that is one area he needs to improve on.

Middle Order: Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh

Coming to Venkatesh Iyer, the 28-year-old has been disappointing so far. The team management has backed Iyer for a long time but since last season, he has not been able to repay their faith. However, the number three position can be ideal for him in the ongoing season.

At three, he’ll not have to deal with swing bowling much (given the opening pair takes care of the new ball) and that can help him establish his authority in the middle.

Nitish Rana’s form is also a matter of concern at the moment. The skipper has scored only 25 runs in two matches and thus, there’s a lot of room for improvement. He needs to lead by example and give KKR much-needed stability in the middle overs. When it comes to his captaincy, Rana has done a decent job so far.

Rinku Singh, meanwhile, is one of the most consistent performers for Knight Riders. He had a tremendous season in domestic cricket lately and in the match against Bangalore, he kept doing his job silently and in the end, his innings made a massive difference.

He’ll have to keep doing the same because players like Iyer and Rana are not in form at the moment and since Rinku is among the runs, the Aligarh-born cricketer needs to take more responsibility and propel the team higher on the IPL points table.

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

Since the ball is expected to come nicely onto the bat, one can expect Andre Russell to dominate in Ahmedabad. However, he is still struggling against short deliveries and players like Mohammed Shami and Alzarri Joseph will definitely take advantage of it. Thus, it needs to be seen if the all-rounder can once again make a difference for KKR.

Sunil Narine, meanwhile, dominated with the ball in the last match. The spin wizard gave the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Virat Kohli, who was looking dangerous in the middle. He can prove to be really economical and with the bat, the 34-year-old can wreak havoc, but that hasn’t been the case so far in the competition.

After his fiery knock of 68 runs off 29 deliveries against RCB, Shardul Thakur has become the talk of the town. Even with the ball, he has done reasonably well and that can boost the confidence of the cricketer. If he manages to play a similar brand of cricket, Thakur can definitely be one of the players to watch out for in the ongoing season.

Bowlers: Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy

Pace Express Umesh Yadav has been disappointing so far in the tournament. He picked up only one wicket and leaked runs at a rate of 7.33 per over. Thus, there’s a lot of room for improvement for the pacer. Now, with WTC Final approaching soon, he will aim to get better and get into the Indian squad.

Kiwi pacer Tim Southee has picked up two wickets so far but has also leaked a lot of runs. Now, the conditions in Ahmedabad are expected to favour the swing bowlers and thus, Southee can take advantage of it along with Umesh.

Varun Chakravarthy on the other hand has picked up five wickets in two matches and with that, the spinner is currently third in the list of IPL Purple Cap. He is in terrific form at the moment and therefore will back himself to once again make a difference. 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), N Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Impact Players:

Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, Mandeep Singh, David Wiese