Last Updated on 7 months by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: A look at the possible playing 11 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for their first game of IPL 2024 against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have endured a bit of a rough patch in recent years. They have missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, with their late run to reach the 2021 final standing out like a sore thumb.

This season, there is renewed optimism. Shreyas Iyer is expected to be available for all games of IPL 2024 despite lingering back issues, while Mitchell Starc makes his long-awaited return to the tournament at an eyewatering record price.

KKR will begin their IPL 2024 campaign at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad. So, it will be interesting to see the make up of their team given Eden Gardens has typically assisted seamers in recent years.

KKR possible playing 11 for their first game of IPL 2024 against Sunrisers Hyderabad

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (OS & wk), 2. Venkatesh Iyer, 3. Nitish Rana, 4. Shreyas Iyer (c), 5. Rinku Singh, 6. Andre Russell (OS), 7. Sunil Narine (OS), 8. Mitchell Starc (OS), 9. Chetan Sekariya, 10. Vaibhav Arora, 11. Varun Chakravarthy

With Shreyas Iyer available, KKR could look to shift Venkatesh Iyer to opener permanently. Rinku Singh and Andre Russell rounds out the top six, giving the franchise wonderful finishing ability.

Mitchell Starc, at 24.75 crore, is a lock. Rahmanullah Gurbaz could be preferred as opener over Phil Salt, who also provides a wicket-keeping option.

In terms of the seam attack, Chetan Sekariya also provides a left-arm option. The seamer will be aiming to replicate some of the form he showed in his early days in his IPL career. With Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy set to take the key spin duties, KKR have a choice to make for the last seamer role and they may opt for Vaibhav Arora over the likes of Harshit Rana.

The key for KKR will be to hit the ground running. They have been unable to put consistent performances together in recent seasons, often putting them in difficult situations come the end of the tournament.