IPL 2017: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted 11

Fast bowlers:

Trent Boult

Boult will be looking to make a great start to his KKR career

The void left by Morne Morkel is one that Trent Boult will be looking to fill. Even though Morkel was an integral part of the KKR set-up during their title-winning campaign, they decided to release the South African fast bowler who has had fitness concerns hanging over his head.

The New Zealand fast bowler hasn't been completely fit in the build-up to the tournament either. But the left-arm pacer is expected to be fit and he will need to get off to a great start if he is to maintain his place in the side. For the return of the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Umesh Yadav might force a rethink from the KKR management.

But for the start at least, it looks like the Kiwi pacer will get the chance to prove himself unlike last year at SRH, where he didn't get too many chances in a side that already had three left-arm pacers in Barinder Sran, Ashish Nehra, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Ankit Rajpoot

With Umesh Yadav currently recuperating from a long home season, the onus of being the Indian fast bowler will fall on Ankit Rajpoot's shoulders. He has been in brilliant form during the domestic season and will come into the tournament high on confidence, hoping to impress and be a regular fixture in the KKR side.

The 23-year-old fast bowler will likely cede the new ball to the experienced duo of Chris Woakes and Trent Boult but he has proven that he doesn't need the new ball to work his magic. In fact, much of his good work for Uttar Pradesh came during the middle and the death overs.