Kolkata: The new head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, Abhishek Nair, is looking for the right combination for the team in the new season. On Friday, Coach Nair said that the biggest challenge remains to prepare the right combination for the three-time champion team before IPL 2026. The last season was disappointing for KKR, after which many changes were made in the team. He has included big names like Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra in the team, but has not finalized his batting order yet.
Nair said, “I find it very difficult to predict what can go wrong, but all I can tell you is that I do not know how the tournament will be, but I think initially we have to ensure that we have a fully fit playing eleven by March 29.” KKR will start their campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29 in Mumbai. KKR, which finished eighth last season with only five wins, will have to field with a new opening pair in the absence of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock.
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are expected to open.
New Zealand's explosive pair Allen and Seifert are the main contenders. Sunil Narayan also opens. In such a situation, it will not be easy for KKR to select four foreign players because it will not be easy to keep Green, Ravindra and Mathisha Pathirana out. “I think that's the priority right now,” Nair said. Making sure we create the right combination. I think this will be our first challenge as a team and we will see the rest with time.
Assistant coach Shane Watson also said that there are many good batsmen in the KKR team and hence it will not be easy to select the playing eleven. He said, “The beauty of this KKR team is that we have many excellent options in the form of world-class batsmen this season. With the level of players we have, we have become a storehouse of wealth in a way. It will be a challenge for the team management to prepare the right combination from the first match itself.
KKR is full of all-rounders
Watson said, “The kind of all-rounder Cam Green is, wherever he gets an opportunity, I know he will want to make the most of it.” KKR have suffered a setback in the fast bowling department as Harshit Rana has been ruled out due to injury, while there is uncertainty over Pathirana's availability. But bowling coach Dwayne Bravo expressed confidence in the spin attack led by Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
He said, “We have the best pair of spin bowlers in this entire tournament. So from bowling point of view I think we will be fine. Apart from this, don't forget Vaibhav (Arora) too, whose performance last year was excellent.
