5 Players who can open the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders surprised quite a few people with their performance last season. The team, which had a lot of young Indian players, did really well to reach the playoffs. Young guns like Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana were excellent with the bat and provided solidity to KKR's middle order. Also, the openers, Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine, provided some breathtaking starts to the team throughout the tournament.
IPL 2019 is going to be more challenging for KKR because of the injuries to it's fast bowlers. The former India U19 duo of Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti has been ruled out of the tournament. To make matters worse, South Africa's latest speed sensation Anrich Nortje won't be able to participate in IPL 2019.
With all these injuries, KKR's pace department is looking extremely fragile and inexperienced. To compensate for it's weak bowling attack, KKR's batting will have to do something exceptional.
And they do possess the talent to do so. Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa will have their work cut out this year. Also, a lot will depend on the openers to provide a strong start to the team. We will look at 5 players who can be given the responsibility of opening the innings in IPL 2019.
#5 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is one of the most promising faces in Indian cricket. The Punjab youngster came into limelight after a brilliant performance in India's U19 World Cup triumph. He was awarded the Man of the series award for his consistent batting. Gill then continued his purple patch in the domestic tournaments too. After playing quite a few tournaments for India A, Gill made it to the national side in the tour of New Zealand.
Gill batted in the middle order for KKR last season, but with the comfort with which he bats against the Pacers, he might be tried as an opener as well.
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