IPL 2019: Ideal batting line-up for the Kolkata Knight Riders

#5 Shubman Gill

Shubhman Gill

Shubhman Gill is a talented newbie and is seen as the future of Indian cricket. He is the best bet to bat at No.5 in this KKR batting line-up. Gill is still into the early days of his IPL career. In just 13 IPL games, he has shown his potential scoring 203 runs averaging 34 at a strike rate of 146.

We would get to see more of Shubman Gill in this edition of the IPL. Gill has been scoring truckloads of run in domestic cricket and is in red-hot form going into the twelfth edition of the IPL.

#6 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, the KKR skipper, remains a vital cog in this batting line-up. Of late, Karthik has cemented his place in India's T20I team and has emerged as a great finisher. Karthik's finishing skills came into prominence after the Nidahas Trophy final when he scored 29* off just 8 balls.

He will be playing the same role for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their 2019 IPL campaign. He has played 168 matches scoring 3401 runs at a strike rate of 129.

#7 Andre Russell

Andre Russell

Andre Russell, considering the devastating hitter that he is, becomes an automatic choice in this KKR batting line-up for the fast bowling all-rounder's slot at No.7. 890 runs at a strike rate of 178 and 40 wickets with the ball in 50 games clearly suggest that he has been KKR's match-winner time and again.

Russell's presence adds a lot of balance to this batting line-up as he is a pure all-rounder who is equally good in all departments of the game and not just a bits and pieces player.