IPL 2023: 3 surprise picks for Dream11 fantasy teams for KKR vs RCB match

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will battle the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) tonight in IPL 2023 at Eden Gardens. The match will start at 7:30 pm IST. This will be the first clash between RCB and KKR in IPL 2023.

Over the last 15 years, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders have had some memorable encounters. Back in 2008, the two teams had their first-ever IPL face-off, where Brendon McCullum's century helped KKR record a big win. In 2017, KKR bowled RCB out for just 49 runs at the Eden Gardens.

When the two teams met last year in Maharashtra, Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel's brilliant batting in the final overs helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore pull off a three-wicket win.

Fans should expect another memorable match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders tonight in IPL 2023. Some of the biggest names of T20 cricket like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Umesh Yadav will be in action tonight.

All eyes will be on the aforementioned six names when fantasy cricket players will create their teams tonight. While those six players are likely to perform well, the following three surprise picks may prove to be differentials in tonight's contest.

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#1 Karn Sharma, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Karn Sharma made his return to the IPL last Sunday (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

After warming the benches for the entire season last year, Karn Sharma finally received an opportunity to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last game against the Mumbai Indians. The experienced right-arm leg-spinner made an instant impact and bowled a spell of 2/32, scalping the wickets of Nehal Wadhera and Tim David.

Sharma showed that he can still trouble the batters with his leg-spin. If he picks up multiple wickets in tonight's game as well, he could prove to be a differential in fantasy cricket.

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#2 Tim Southee

Tim Southee can trouble the batters with his swing (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Tim Southee has a lot of experience under his belt. He knows how to trouble the batters with the new ball. KKR skipper Nitish Rana used him in the death overs as well during the last match against the Punjab Kings.

If Southee bowls in the powerplay and slog overs, he has a good chance of ending up with more than one wicket in this game. Besides, Southee can also chip in with some vital runs in the lower order.

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#3 Akash Deep

Shahbaz Ahmed plays domestic cricket for Bengal (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed neither batted nor bowled in the IPL 2023 match against the Mumbai Indians, but he can make a big impact in tonight's game because he is familiar with the conditions at Eden Gardens. In case you didn't know, Ahmed plays domestic cricket for Bengal.

Besides, Ahmed was the second-highest run-scorer for Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Hence, the southpaw can be backed to score a lot of points in tonight's IPL 2023 match.