"They are the strongest contenders to lift the trophy" - Harbhajan Singh on KKR ensuring a spot in Qualifier 1 in IPL 2024

Harbhajan Singh reckons the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are firm favorites to win the IPL 2024 title. He noted that the two-time champions have a well-rounded squad that would be tough to beat this season.

KKR's penultimate league game against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Monday (May 13) was washed out. The no-result ensured that Shreyas Iyer and company booked a berth in Qualifier 1 to be played at the same venue on May 21.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about the Kolkata Knight Riders' prospects of bagging the IPL 2024 trophy.

"They have very good chances because the team is very good. It's an extremely balanced team. I don't think they have anything lacking in their team. The opening slots, middle order, fast and spin bowling are all set. They have all the options a good team should have and that is why they are the table toppers," he responded.

"I feel they are the strongest contenders to lift the trophy because they have a lot of match-winners. The opposing team needs to have a very good day to beat them. I feel it would be slightly difficult to beat them this season because they are playing terrific cricket," the former India spinner added.

With 19 points from 13 games, KKR are the only team to have qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs thus far. They are three points ahead of the Rajasthan Royals (RR), their closest rivals, whom they will face in their final league game in Guwahati on May 19.

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"We rarely see such a turnaround" - Mohammad Kaif on KKR's excellent run after 2 indifferent years

KKR failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two editions of the IPL. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Mohammad Kaif praised the Kolkata Knight Riders for scripting a great turnaround in IPL 2024.

"When they will reach here for Qualifier 1, (Phil) Salt won't be there. A new player would have to play there. So the atmosphere will be slightly different but they will be happy because of the way they have played. All players are in form. We rarely see such a turnaround," he noted.

"The last two years were very bad for KKR. They finished at the seventh position in two successive years. Now they are finishing at the top. Although one or two games are left, they have qualified. The signs are good. They have good players and a great atmosphere," the former India batter added.

Kaif claimed that KKR have all the bases covered in their squad.

"They have (Mitchell) Starc and two uncapped fast bowlers in Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana. They have swing and pace. They have (Sunil) Narine and Varun (Chakaravarthy). They are an extremely balanced team. We haven't taken Rinku Singh's name much. They have Andre Russell. I have gotten tired while naming all of them," he elaborated.

With Phil Salt unlikely to be available for the playoffs, Rahmanullah Gurbaz might open the batting with Sunil Narine. The Kolkata-based franchise could even consider including Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the XI in Salt's place, considering the promise the youngster has shown in his seven innings this season.