IPL 2020: 3 ways KKR could line up next season

It has widely been acknowledged after the completion of the 2019 IPL auction that Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the most dangerous teams in the upcoming tournament and are certainly more than capable of causing problems for the traditional favourites, such as Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

Their buys in the auction have been box offices, such as picking up Pat Cummins for 15.5 crores and, in the process, making him the most expensive foreigner in IPL history and the second-most expensive player overall. They have also got real value for money with the purchase of Tom Banton for his base price of 1 crore and have also continued a fantastic story by drafting in 48-year old leggie Pravin Tambe. Their squad make-up is intriguing, so let's have a look at 3 ways they could line up come March 2020.

The First-Choice XI

Andre Russell will be one of KKR's key players

Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Tripathi, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna.

First off, let us start by hazarding a guess at what KKR's first-choice team would look like. These eleven players should be the ones we expect to see more or less throughout the tournament and will be called upon to deliver in most crunch scenarios.

Opening the batting for this team are Sunil Narine and Shubman Gill. While Narine's job will be to bludgeon the bowlers from the word go, Gill will look to play himself in and anchor the innings. Following these two is a fairly dependable middle order, consisting of Nitish Rana and captain Dinesh Karthik, as well as new buys Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi. With a healthy mix of left-handers and right-handers, KKR can afford to send in whoever they want depending on the situation and with the firepower of Andre Russell to follow, the batsmen can play freely, knowing his ability to strike a ball.

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The bowling attack will be led by Pat Cummins, with able support in the form of Indian youngsters Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna, as well as Russell in the pace department. Looking to squeeze batsmen from the other end will be the crafty spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Narine. This line-up provides captain Karthik with 6 quality bowling options, which is almost necessary for this squad, given Russell's fitness issues.

Bat deep and bat hard

Tom Banton will be looking to impress in his maiden IPL season

Tom Banton, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Tripathi, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav.

There are only two changes between this line-up and the previous one, but these two changes make a world of difference to the style of cricket KKR would look to play with this eleven on the field.

In this team, Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna drop out, with Tom Banton and Kamlesh Nagarkoti taking their places. Batting-wise, this team is among one of the best possible in this year's IPL. Tom Banton and Sunil Narine can ensure a fast start to the innings, while any one of the 6 to follow the pair can single-handedly win KKR a match on their day. Add to this the fact that both Mavi and Nagarkoti are decent with the blade in hand, and we have a team that bats till number 10 and more importantly, has a quality batter in each position. It would be silly to rule this line-up out, especially at grounds such as Wankhede and Chinnaswamy, which are notorious for high-scoring matches.

The pace battery

KKR have the likes of Kiwi quickie Lockie Ferguson in their pace attack

Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav.

Given the balance of their squad, KKR could either go with a devastating batting line-up or with a lethal pace bowling attack, as is outlined here. This team sees the likes of Sunil Narine and Prasidh Krishna drop out as the team management could look to knock over opposition batsmen with pure, unadulterated pace.

Here, Rahul Tripathi, moving up from his previous middle-order slot, joins Shubman Gill at the top of the order, with the batsmen coming next remaining pretty much the same, save for Rinku Singh, who makes this team not just as a batsman but as an excellent fielder, especially on the boundary.

What we really need to get excited about, however, is the bowling attack. Here, KKR could go with a 4-pronged pace attack comprising of Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi, all of whom are capable of consistently clocking speeds in excess of 140 kmph. They will be supported by the lone spinner, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who could look to pick up a few wickets as a result of the pressure created by the quicks.