IPL 2022, CSK vs KKR Predicted Playing XI: Where will Venkatesh Iyer bat for Kolkata?
IPL 2021, CSK vs KKR Predicted Playing XI: Four-time IPL champions CSK will take on last edition’s runner-up side KKR in the opening match of this year’s tournament at the Wankhede Stadium.
Kolkata Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum on Friday has lavished praise on new skipper Shreyas Iyer. Iyer, who led Delhi Capitals to their maiden IPL final in 2020, was snapped KKR for Rs 12.25 crore after aggressive bidding and was subsequently made skipper of the two-time former champions. But the former Kiwi captain will have to make tough call on the other Iyer.
Venkatesh Iyer rose to prominence as an impact-opener in the last year’s Indian Premier League, but the Indian team management used him as a finisher in T20Is. The question about Venkatesh’s batting position this term was pretty legitimate, but his captain’s answer reeked of indecision.
“We haven’t decided yet. I need to have a chat with the coach and management,” Shreyas said in a recent Q & A session with reporters. The Indian all-rounder has amassed 370 runs in 10 innings at a healthy strike rate of 128.47 in the IPL 2021.
KKR’s pace bowling department has got a big setback as New Zealand pacer Tim Southee won’t be available against CSK, McCullum confirmed. The team is already missing their star Australian pacer Pat Cummins, who will be unavailable for the first five matches due to national commitments.
Meanwhile, CSK will be without their star all-rounder Moeen Ali in the first match. However, ALi has secured his India visa and will be available for selection from the second game of the IPL. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni has stepped down from CSK’s captaincy role and handed the baton Ravindra Jadeja on Thursday.
Teams (from)
CSK: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayadu, Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitch Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma.
KKR: Pat Cummins, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, B Indrajith, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav, Aman Khan
Predicted XIs
CSK Predicted XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwayne Bravo, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Adam Milne
KKR Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Mohammad Nabi, Rasikh Dar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
