Indian Premier League 2015: Squad-wise Analysis of Franchises

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)

KKR are the defending champions and has won the tournament twice. They are also the most profitable franchise in the IPL history and after 3 horrendous initial years, KKR changed their fortunes with changes in team, leadership and support staff.
KKR brought in some big and important names who have provided them the winning edge.

KKR Strong Points:

KKR’s strongest point is the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. He is a no-nonsense captain who believes in leading from the front with facing the problems head on. Gambhir had a horrendous start to his IPL season last year with 3 ducks in 3 matches, but fought back to win matches for his team.
KKR has invested in some lesser known but talented players who will give support to the big names and are capable of winning matches on their own. KKR also has one of the best spin attack in Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Kuldeep Yadav and Brad Hogg.
KKR also has players like Robin Uthappa, Ryan ten Doeschate, Andre Russell and Yusuf Pathan who are proven match winners who are capable of single-handedly winning matches from any situation.

Weak Points:

KKR has too many multi-utility players in their squad which is good if they need runs in some overs, but can prove fatal if they are left to play for themselves without a proper batsman to guide them.
KKR also has issues with getting good starts in IPL. They always begin with losing matches in the beginning picking up pace in middle of the tournament. But now with them defending their titles, they need to start on a winning note and keep the pressure on the opponents and dominate the tournament.

Prediction:

Kolkata Knight Riders are definitely capable of defending their IPL title and will give it their all to become a three-time champions.

KKR Squad for IPL 2015:
Gautam Gambhir, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Morne Morkel, Patrick Cummins, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Ryan ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Veer Pratap Singh, Yusuf Pathan, James Neesham, Brad Hogg, Aditya Garhwal, Sumit Narwal, KC Cariappa, Vaibhav Rawal, Sheldon Jackson

(*All Information Updated till 23rd march 2015)

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