Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2016: Schedule, Team Squad, and Venue Details

Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL twice. They were crowned champions in 2012 and 2014. They did not enjoy the same success in 2015 though. They finished the tournament fifth and just missed the last playoff spot. IPL 2016 starts on April 9, 2016. Mumbai Indians and Pune Supergiants set the ball rolling.

Kolkata Knight Riders will play the first match against Delhi Daredevils on April 10, 2016, in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Kolkata will definitely be looking to start the tournament with a win. Not to forget, Kolkata Knight Riders currently hold the record for the longest winning streak in IPL with a massive tally of fourteen wins.

Kolkata will play all their home games in Eden Gardens. Regarding the stadium, it is the largest stadium in the country and is the second largest stadium in the world. With a capacity of 66,000, the atmosphere here will be surreal.

Here is Kolkata Knight Rider’s schedule for IPL 2016.

Date	Draw	Venue
April 10, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
April 13, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
April 16, 2016	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
April 19, 2016	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
April 24, 2016	Pune Supergiants vs Kolkata Knight Riders	MCA International Stadium, Pune
April 28, 2016	Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
April 30, 2016	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 2, 2016	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
May 4, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 8, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Lions	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 14, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Pune Supergiants	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 16, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 19, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Kolkata Knight Riders	TBC, TBC
May 22, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Eden Gardens, Kolkata

TBC – To be confirmed.

Kolkata Knight Riders have retained most of their players for IPL 2016. In the auction that was held on February 6, 2016, Knight Riders opted for a cautious approach. They made a few smart buys such as Colin Munro of New Zealand and John Hastings of Australia.

Let us take a much closer look at the Kolkata Knight Rider’s squad for IPL 2016.

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad for IPL 2016
Name	Role
Gautam Gambhir (Captain)	Batsman
Chris Lynn*	Batsman
Manish Pandey	Batsman
Colin Munro*	Batsman
Suryakumar Yadav	Batsman
Yusuf Pathan	All-rounder
John Hastings*	All-rounder
Andre Russell*	All-rounder
Kuldeep Yadav	All-rounder
Jason Holder*	All-rounder
Shakib Al Hasan*	All-rounder
Manan Sharma	All-rounder
Brad Hogg*	All-rounder
Rajagopal Sathish	All-rounder
Robin Uthappa	Wicketkeeper Batsman
Sheldon Jackson	Wicketkeeper Batsman
Piyush Chawla	Bowling All-rounder
Morne Morkel*	Bowler
Sunil Narine*	Bowler
Ankit Rajpoot	Bowler
Umesh Yadav	Bowler
Jaydev Unadkat	Bowler

* indicates overseas player.

Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa will probably open the innings for the Knight Riders. Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, and Robin Uthappa are players who can change matches within moments.

Kolkata Knight Riders have a strong middle order in the form of Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russel, John Hastings, and Shakib Al Hasan. These players are not flexible, but also give the middle order a lot of stability. If any one of them get going, an easy 170 is on the cards.

In the bowling department, they have some quicks such as Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, and the re-acquired Jaidev Unadkat. In the spin department, they have the wizardry of Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla. Overall, their bowling department is can be termed as stellar.

We will even have to watch out the new buy, Colin Munro. With so many quality overseas players in their squad, selecting Kolkata’s starting eleven will not be easy. We will have to wait and see as to how they will approach IPL 2016.

Kolkata Knight Riders enter IPL 2016 with a very strong team. They will definitely be looking to get the cup for a sensational third time.