Two-times IPL Champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will step out at Eden Gardens on 8th April to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). After retaining two T20 Superstars (Sunil Narine and Andre Russell) they could not gain a significant advantage in the revamping auction of IPL 2018. They had roped in English pacer Tom Curran as Mitchell Starc’s replacement. Starc had suffered a tibial bone stress in his right leg during Australia’s third Test against South Africa.
Considering the young looking Kolkata Knight Riders squad it can be said that there are a bunch of players whose role will be crucial if KKR wishes to lift the coveted trophy for their time that too in the absence of their most successful skipper Gautam Gambhir. If one needs to pick the X-factors for KKR for IPL 2018, then Nitish Rana and Tom Curran need to be on the list as both of them has very less experience of play T20s but in the game they have featured, they have managed to impress one and all and because of the same reason, they can play a crucial role in the team.
Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders – Probable XI Prediction
Rana is yet to make his international debut for India, but he was one of the crucial cogs for Mumbai Indians (MI) in their triumphant season last year. In T20s, he has managed to maintain a strike-rate of 137 even after 42 innings, but it was in the last season when he made a name for himself. Now, after looking at his last year consistent performances, everyone will be looking forward to watching him play. In terms of batting, Nitish has amassed as many as 1089 runs at a decent average of around 29 along with an individual highest score of 97. IPL 2018, Nitish played 13 matches for MI and amassed 333 runs with the help of three 50s at an average of around 30. After having a close look at his credentials, one can easily say that he can be sheet anchor for the Knight Riders.
On the other hand, Tom Curran, who has not much experience of playing in t20 leagues, made a name for himself on his T20I debut for England when he rattled the South African batsmen with a spell of 3/33. Despite the fact that he has never played for any IPL team, he can help KKR to win games. In his career of 51 T20 games, Tom had managed to pick 53 wickets along with the economy rate of just above eight. He can be the go-to bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders as he generates a lot of pace and bounce on most of the wickets.
Also read: KKR To Miss Big Names This Season
On their day, the duo can wreak havoc on any opposition, and they have the ability to turn the match on its head only with their respective abilities. Because of the fact that these two are pretty unknown to almost all the IPL teams, Kolkata Knight Riders can use them as a surprise package to win games.
Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2018 squad:
Dinesh Karthik (C), Robin Uthappa, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Tom Curran, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searles, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi
