IPL 2024 – Match 28, KKR vs LSG: Shreyas Iyer to Drop Mitchell Starc? Kolkata Knight Riders Probable Playing 11 vs Lucknow Super Giants

The 28th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will see Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) touring locking horns with the home team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on April 14, Sunday in a day game.

KKR To Remain Unchanged

Despite losing their last match to Chennai on a raging turner, Kolkata should not panic because the way they have played in this tournament, it mostly looked like a one-off day.

Kolkata’s playing XI is more or less settled going into the game where they will face Lucknow on their home ground. Their side may remain unchanged.

Sunil Narine, The Vintage Opening Beast for KKR

Sunil Narine has breathed new life into this Kolkata setup; Gambhir’s move of making him open again has sorted their opening woes. Narine is a sort of player; when he scores runs, he scores them very quickly, and when he fails, he makes sure he does not consume a lot of deliveries.

Phil Salt will open with him and will also take up the wicketkeeping duties. Salt’s form is crucial to the Kolkata side because he is the one who shields their batters from fast bowling.

Venkatesh Iyer has had a quiet season if you leave out his half-century against Bengaluru, but against Lucknow, he will have to be at his best because Lucknow has two of the league’s best left-arm spinners bowling at him.

Kolkata’s batting lineup is right-hand heavy, and Narine, despite being a lefty, struggles against left-arm spin, which makes Venkatesh an important cog for them in this match.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi has seamlessly adapted his role in the setup considering his age and the skill set he has shown; he has a very high ceiling.

Shreyas Iyer’s Form Raises Eyebrows

Shreyas Iyer has looked out of touch for most of this season, though he has been spot-on with his decisions as a skipper. He would hope to be amongst runs soon before the business leg of the league starts.

Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, as finishers, have done extremely well as both of them have struck at a strike rate of over 150 while maintaining their consistency. They hold the key for the franchise because the role they do is a very volatile one.

Ramandeep Singh provides them batting depth at 8 with bowling some gentle medium pace, which gives them another option to explore.

Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana will again be the two fast bowlers Kolkata will play along with Russell as their seamer. Rana has been magnificent in this season; he has taken up the new ball and also comes back to bowl in the death overs.

While Starc has been off-colour for a while now, he has the capability of turning the tables very quickly.

Varun Chakravarthy will make up for the spin bowling with Sunil Narine; both of them will bowl at the middle stage of the innings where they’ll look to make things difficult for the Lucknow middle order.

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI vs Lucknow Super Giants:

Sunil Narine, Phil Salt (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy

Impact Player: Anukul Roy/Vaibhav Arora