KKR in IPL 2023: Best bowler in Kolkata Knight Riders who can change game anytime

Shreyas Iyer, the usual captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), won’t be available, at least for the first half of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). For his lower-back issue, which forced him to sit out of the fourth and final Test against Australia earlier this month, Shreyas is anticipated to endure surgery.

Even days before their IPL 2023 season opener against Punjab Kings on April 1, KKR has not yet named their replacement captain in Iyer’s absence. Shakib al Hasan of Bangladesh, Andre Russell of the West Indies, and Nitish Rana of Delhi are the front-runners to succeed Iyer as captain.

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But as the season opener came close, the contenders for the potential captains changed and it is likely to be either Sunil Narine or Shardul Thakur.

Sources claim that Thakur, who was traded by the Delhi Capitals to the Knight Riders for IPL 2023 after they purchased him for Rs 10.75 crore for IPL 2022, has an advantage over Narine because the Mumbai native is anticipated to get along better with the Indian players at KKR.

The fact that Narine had a poor captaincy performance with the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders recently during the first season of the ILT20 in the UAE, where the team had just one victory and eight losses to place last in the six-team competition, could also work against him.

Effective with the bat and the ball, “Lord” Shardul Thakur will play a big part for KKR, not just as a seasoned Indian player but also as a pace-bowling all-rounder. Shardul Thakur, who was acquired as a trade from DC can be a game changer for his new side because of his ability to change the momentum of a game, in any style, with a bat or a ball, has been astounding.

In the previous IPL he took 15 wickets for DC in 14 games at an economy of 9.79.