In the previous edition of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders did a Manchester City by winning the tournament by beating the favourites Chennai SuperKings in their own backyard. Failed miserably in the first three seasons, team owner Shah Rukh Khan took a brave decision by changing the entire team and it paid off. Can the Kolkata Knight Riders successfully defend their crown? Cricmatez.com brings you the overall preview of Kolkata Knight Riders and their chances in the sixth edition of IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad for IPL 6

Indian Players representing Kolkata Knight Riders:

• Gautam Gambhir
• Yusuf Pathan
• Lakshmipathi Balaji
• Manoj Tiwary
• Shami Ahmed
• Pradeep Sangwan
• Debabrata Das
• Laxmi Ratan Shukla
• Manvinder Bisla
• Iqbal Abdulla
• Pradeep Sangwan
• Rajat Bhatia
• Sarabjeet Ladda

Overseas Players representing Kolkata Knight Riders:

• Brett Lee
• Ryan McLaren
• Ryan Ten Doeschate
• Sunil Narine
• Brendan McCullam
• Jacques Kallis
• Sachitra Senanayake
• Shakib al Hasan
• James Pattinson
• Brad Haddin
• Eoin Morgan

Strengths:

• The presence of T20 specialists like Ten Doeschate, McCullam, Narine , Yusuf Pathan makes the Kolkata Knight Riders a strong team.
• Almost all the overseas players are available for the entire season.
• Defending some of the lowest totals is definitely their key strength.
• Presence of Jacques Kallis and Shakib brings balance to the team.
• The form of their Overseas players at the moment is terrific.
• Beating the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens is a difficult thing.
• Decent Domestic recruits.

Weakness:

• The form of their skipper Gautam Gambhir should be their biggest worry.
• Lack of match practice for key players like Tiwary, Lee, Pathan due to injury.
• Cant score at a brisk pace after the initial overs.
• Can get complacent due to the Champions tag.
• Generally the Kolkata Knight Riders are slow starters.

X-Factor:

Picking the correct combination of overseas players should be a crucial factor for the Kolkata Knight Riders. With all eleven overseas players capable of turning the game on their head, the team management will have a huge task in picking the Fantastic Four. Other than Kallis and Narine no one is certain to be in the playing XI.

Watch out for

Shami Ahmed is considered as a Pacer in Srinath mould. He was a part of the Indian ODI squad that beat England few months ago. The ability to hit good areas and swing the ball at a good pace makes him a better bet in T20’s.

Manvinder Bisla is the man who single handedly demolished Ashwin & co. in the finals of IPL 2012. He has the ability to score runs quickly and can also be a good Wicket Keeping option. He is the one to watch out for in this edition of IPL.

James Pattinson, the Aussie quick can be used as a replacement for Brett Lee.He can match Lee with his Pace, can swing the ball either ways and can generate good bounce from the pitch. A lot can be expected from this Victorian in seaming wickets.

Possible Playing XI for Kolkata Knight Riders:

G. Gambhir(captain), B. McCullam, M. Bisla, J. Kallis, Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Bhatia, Debabrata Das/LR Shukla/Abdulla, Shakib/Lee/Pattinson/Doeschate, Narine, Shami Ahmed/L. Balaji.

Schedule for Kolkata Knight Riders in Ipl 2013:

  *Home team is mentioned first

The Million Dollar question is that can Kolkata Knight Riders Defend their crown successfully?