Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has announced its probable playing eleven for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The three-time champions will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing season last time where they finished eighth.
Ashwin's KKR team is quite simple. The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star included all the usual suspects like newly signed Finn Allen, Cameron Green and Blessing Muzarabani in the squad.
The former player-turned-specialist chose captain Ajinkya Rahane as the opening batsman along with Allen. This means other Kiwi openers in the form of Tim Seifert miss out to accommodate other overseas stars. However, Ashwin predicted a great season for Green with the bat.
“For the best batsman, I'm going with Cameron Green, because I'm also thinking about Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh, but I don't know where KKR will use him. If he was at the top of his game, at the top of his career, I would pick Rahane. Somehow, I think Cameron Green can do well if he is used in the top four,” R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin also backed Sunil Narine to continue his excellent form for the Kolkata-based side. However, the former India player believes so KKRBowling is their weak spot in the 2026 IPL which may prevent them from qualifying for the playoffs.
“For the best bowler, I am going with Sunil Narine. I think he will remain economical, and he will be a bank of four overs. I have no doubt about that. KKR will not qualify for the top four this time. Their bowling looks strange. In the IPL, if you don't have a good top order, you can compensate from the middle order, and if you don't have a good middle order, you can compensate from the top three. But if you lack bowling, If it is, it is very difficult to compensate for it,” he said. Added.
R Ashwin's probable Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI:
Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakraborty, Blessing Muzarabani.
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