{jcomments on}Kolkata Knight Riders look like a team to beat in this year’s edition. The Knight Riders did a massive change to their team after the third edition of IPL. The change seemed to work for them as they reached the semi-finals of IPL-4, their best performance in the tournament so far.

The team from Kolkata won eight matches to qualify for their first ever semi-finals. Shah Rukh Khan’s team has seen the worse; they were sixth in the inaugural edition, last in the year after that and again sixth in 2010.

Gautam Gambhir will lead the side for the second time and the amount of talent he has, he will fancy his team’s chance.

Knight Riders had the biggest buys in last year’s auction and going by the money they have put in their side, the management will be expecting big things from the men in violet and gold. Going by the strength that they have in both their batting and bowling, Knight Riders should qualify for the semi-finals until something dramatic happen.

BATTING

International Players: One of the all-time great all-rounder Jacques Kallis will open for the Knight Riders. He is one of the most profound run-getters in IPL’s history. His name has always been in the list of the top run-scorers and was the holder of the Orange Cap for quite a bit of time. Than they have one of the most exciting talent of England team in the form of Eoin Morgan. Morgan is a specialist in this format and his unorthodox batting style can be very effective. The Kolkata team has once again roped in the explosive Kiwi, Brendon McCullum. McCullum apart from the one inning that he played in the first match of the IPL-1 did not do much for the Kolkata team and that was the reason why he was not picked in the IPL-4 auction. He is once again is back with his first team and going by his recent form; he will be a player to watch out for.

Domestic Players: The Knight Riders are blessed with the type of Indian talent that they have in their ranks. Their captain Gautam Gambhir will lead the pack from the top. He is very effective in all formats and has played well in all the IPL’s. He will be supported ably by Manoj Tiwary. Tiwary has been warming the bench for the national side and will be raring to go, he played some gem of the innings in the previous edition finished quite a few matches for the Knight Riders. Knight Riders have one of the biggest hitter in world cricket – Yusuf Pathan. Pathan can be devastating and even his miss hits crosses the boundary line quite easily. He still has a point to prove for his new team, but even on his bad day he can win the match for his side.

Apart from these big names, Knight Riders also have some utility players in their team. Local all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla is coming on the verge of some terrific domestic performance. Manvinder Bisla also played some quick-fire knocks for his side in the previous edition.

BOWLING

International Players: Knight Riders has one of the most experienced international fast bowler in their side in the form of Brett Lee. He has been the spearhead of the Australian attack for more than a decade and will look to lead the fast bowling pack for the Kolkata side. Lee is very effective in the death overs and can win a match on his own. The young fast bowling sensation James Pattinson will also dawn the Knight Riders’ colour. He tormented Indian batsmen in the India-Australia series and going by the success he had against the Indian greats will be a threat to the opponent’s batsmen.
Kolkata has included the mystery spinner Sunil Narine to their squad. Narine was very impressive in the last year’s Champions League and will be looking to repeat his feat. Narine troubled the Aussie batsmen in the recent series and will be exciting to watch if he will get the chance.

Domestic Players: Once again Knight Riders have one of the most experienced Indian fast bowler in the form of Lakshmipathy Balaji. Balaji played for the Chennai team in the first three editions and was picked by the Riders in IPL-4. With his change of pace and slow bouncer, he can be very effective. He also has the ability to swing the new ball and can support Brett Lee quite well. Left arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla was the find for the Knight Riders in the last edition. He never allowed the batsmen to get away and bowled with superb control. He also has the ability to ball in the field restriction.

Along with these key Indian bowlers, they also have Jaydev Unadkat who played in South Africa and Pradeep Sangwan who has a good domestic record.

Players to watch out from Kolkata Knight Riders: Yusuf Pathan, Brendon McCullum, Gautam Gambhir, Brett Lee

Kolkata Knight Riders complete squad

GautamGambhir, Eoin Morgan, Manoj Tiwary, Debabrata Das, ChiragJaini, Brad Haddin, ManvinderBisla, Brendon McCullum, Sanju Samson, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, LaxmiRatanShukla, Rajat Bhatia, Brett Lee, James Pattinson, LakshmipathyBalaji, JaydevUnadkat, Iqbal Abdulla, Shami Ahmed, PradeepSangwan, SarabjitLadda, Sunil Narine, IreshSaxena, Marchant De Lange

By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News