IPL 2019: One key player for each team 

Kolkata Knight Riders - Andre Russell

Kolkata Knight Riders were identified by cricket experts as the weakest squad of last year's IPL immediately after the auction, but the league proved it to be false. The wafer-thin batting line up of KKR stood up and performed.

Players like Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana performed beyond their abilities and even compensated for a poor season for Robin Uthappa. The rookie bowlers in Prasidh Krishna and Shivam Mavi too bowled brilliantly and made up for Mitchell Starc who missed last year's IPL due to an injury.

This year the team management has strengthened the squad to an extent with the addition of Carlos Brathwaite and Anrich Nortje but still, the bulk of the team's workload will lay on the shoulders of captain Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell.

Russell will be an extremely important player for the team because of his all-round abilities. He is a proven six-hitter in the death overs and his ability to bowl yorkers at will is an added advantage. His form will be crucial for KKR this year as well.