Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI vs Rajasthan Royals for Match 56 of IPL 2023
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will lock horns with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 56 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens on Thursday, May 11.
Kolkata have been one of the teams to watch out for in recent weeks. They've won three of their last five matches to surge up the standings and are currently just outside the top half of the table. Nitish Rana's men are on the back of a thrilling home win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Rajasthan, meanwhile, are woefully out of form and have lost five of their last six matches in the league. They seemed to have clinched their previous game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but some elementary mistakes at the death consigned them to another loss.
The Knight Riders have settled on a stable playing XI and are unlikely to make any significant changes to their side. Which players will take to the field at Eden Gardens?
Here is KKR's predicted playing XI for Match 56 of IPL 2023 against RR.
Note: Playing XIs are bound to vary majorly in IPL 2023, with the introduction of the impact player rule as well as captains having the chance to name their side after the result of the toss is known.
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Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are yet to click as a pair, with the latter having failed in five of his last six innings. While Johnson Charles recently joined the squad as a replacement player, Gurbaz is bound to be backed for a bit.
Venkatesh Iyer's form has been rather underwhelming in the recent past. The southpaw will hope to be back amongst the runs against the Royals.
Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell have all played some important knocks for KKR in the last few matches. Two of the trio have picked up the odd wicket as well.
Shardul Thakur has been used rather strangely in IPL 2023. He hasn't rolled his arm over in a few games and has even earned surprise promotions up the order. The all-rounder is bound to be trusted more with the ball at some point in the near future.
Part of the reason why Thakur hasn't had to bowl is Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora's introduction into the playing XI. The uncapped duo have punched above their weight in the last two matches and have taken up the responsibility of bowling the tough overs.
Varun Chakaravarthy has led the spin attack with aplomb, but Sunil Narine needs to step up. Suyash Sharma, meanwhile, is likely to come on as an impact sub when KKR bowl.
KKR's predicted playing XI for Match 56 of IPL 2023: Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Impact player candidates: Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, N Jagadeesan.