KKR vs PBKS Dream11 Prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today’s IPL match – April 26, 2025

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) face off in the 44th match of IPL 2025 on Saturday, April 26, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The hosts are in desperate search of a win to get their campaign back on track, and to find it against the Punjab Kings would definitely do them some good.

KKR crumbled to an improbable defeat in the reverse fixture by getting bundled out for 95 in a run chase of the small target of 112. That defeat clearly rattled them as they put up another under-confident display in their most recent defeat to the Gujarat Titans.

PBKS also comes into this fixture on the back of a defeat to RCB, but with five wins in eight games, they'll back themselves to return to winning ways tonight and do the double over KKR.

In what should, no doubt, be a fiery contest, let's look at the top three Dream11 captaincy choices.

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#3 Varun Chakravarthy (BOWL) (KKR)

Can Varun Chakravarthy (left) spin a web around the PBKS batters once more?

Varun Chakravarthy's tight spell of 2/21 was crucial in KKR bowling out the Punjab Kings for a mere 111 in the reverse fixture, with the mystery spinner castling the dangerous Aussie batters Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell.

Barring Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera, none of the PBKS batters have looked assured against the spinners. Varun's ability to bowl at different stages of the game and his familiarity with the Eden Gardens gives him a huge advantage when bowling at the Punjab batters tonight.

Considering that a high % of his wickets come from bowled and LBW and the extra points awarded for taking wickets on Dream11 now, Varun could be a smart captaincy choice for tonight's fixture.

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#2 Shreyas Iyer (BAT) (PBKS)

Shreyas Iyer's batting has been quite the curious case, with the PBKS captain having an all-or-nothing season so far. He has struck three beautiful half-centuries, but has failed to cross double digits in the rest of the matches, especially struggling to score runs in Mullanpur.

He'll hope for a turnaround in fortunes with the switch in venue to Kolkata, his home ground last season. Shreyas loves batting against the spinners and is yet to be dismissed by spin this season, striking at 155.6 against them.

Due a big score, this batter with a penchant of making big scores is definitely a quality Dream11 captaincy pick for this fixture.

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#1 Sunil Narine (ALL) (KKR)

Caribbean all-rounder Sunil Narine will look to inspire his team to a much-needed win in this fixture. Narine was one of KKR's highest wicket-takers in the reverse fixture, finishing with a tight spell of 2/14 in three overs. While he couldn't create much of an impact with the bat, he did leave quite a mark on the match.

With his team searching for form, Narine will be the key to delivering the same at this venue. The PBKS new-ball bowlers, while effective in some games, have been inconsistent, and Narine could capitalize on any loose deliveries to score some quick runs with the bat.

Much like Varun Chakravarthy, Narine's spin is sure to cause the Punjab batters plenty of problems when batting. His all-round point-scoring potential makes him a no-brainer for Dream11 captaincy in this fixture.