IPL 2020: Sunil Gavaskar picks KKR's probable playing XI, includes star foreign players
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar picked the Kolkata Knight Riders' playing XI ahead of the side's first match of IPL 2020 against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
The former opener included star foreign players Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins in his team.
Gavaskar believes that Morgan's addition to the middle order will bring stability to the batting and Russell's big-hitting make him a shoo-in for any T20 side.
Sunil Narine comes off a winning campaign with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League and will be full of confidence, while Pat Cummins would be out to prove he is worth the big bucks KKR shelled out for him.
Following these picks, Gavaskar chose Dinesh Karthik as KKR's skipper and also backed Nitish Rana at the No.3 position, saying his all-round abilities could be of great use to the franchise.
"Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Sunil Narine will be my four foreign players. After that, I would like to see skipper Dinesh Karthik bat in the middle-order. I will back Nitish Rana at No.3 position. He can also bowl so he should of course be in the KKR playing XI," Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
Sunil Gavaskar's bowling attack for KKR in IPL 2020
Sunil Gavaskar picked Cummins, Narine and Kuldeep Yadav as his main trio in the bowling attack for KKR, and suggested Russell could chip in with a few overs to become a fourth bowling option.
The 71-year-old also backed mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy to do well for KKR this IPL season. Chakravarthy played only one game last year but could create a significant impact for the side in conditions conducive to his bowling style.
Lastly, Gavaskar picked Shivam Mavi ahead of Kamlesh Nagarkoti because of the former's experience in the IPL.
"If you have three good bowlers like Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav in your XI, Andre Russell can also bowl so he would be my fourth bowler. Maybe Varun Chakravarthy can be the fifth bowler, the player who was sold for INR 8.5 crores in last year's auction but played only one game. But this time he can play more matches and can become a trump card this year," Gavaskar said.
"If so much belief is shown in him, he can surely make an impact in this tournament. Even the pitches here will suit him. I will pick Shivam Mavi ahead of Kamlesh Nagarkoti because he has the experience of bowling in the IPL as he played in the 2018 IPL," he further added.
Sunil Gavaskar's KKR XI for IPL 2020: Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik (c), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna.
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