We are now just about 10 days away from the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season to kick start on the 31st of March with the defending champions Gujarat Titans hosting 4 times champion Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad.
The IPL 2022 was a special edition for number of teams but particularly for the 2 new boys in the league, the Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Super Giants. While Gujarat Titans went on to win the IPL Trophy on its debut season in a dominant manner, Lucknow Super Giants made it to the IPL 2022 Playoffs and lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Eliminator.
This new season brings new hope for many teams, particularly for the Kolkata based Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who won their last and 2nd ever IPL Trophy in 2014. They came close to the Trophy several times, mainly in 2021 when they reached the final but lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The team will be looked to end its Trophy draught come this IPL 2023, but even before that, they have been dealt a major blow as team’s captain and Indian middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer has suffered a back injury during the Test series vs Australia. He is likely to the first half if not the entirety of the IPL 2023 campaign.
With no confirmation yet about his availability, the fans are worried about who could be their next captain if Shreyas Iyer is really not available. Today in this article, we take a look at 5 candidates who can become KKR captain for IPL 2023.
Andre Russell
Andre Russell, the West Indies all-rounder is currently one of the long serving player of the team. The West Indies is a fan favourite Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player. He has been a part of the team since the year 2014 and has been one of the heart-beat of KKR’s stunning victories. The Caribbean muscle man also has experience of leading sides as he has captained teams in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Shakib Al Hasan
The current Bangladesh cricket team captain Shakib Al Hasan is another option for the Kolkata Knight Riders to look at as the captain of the team. However, since the player is likely to be mainly a backup player for this season, he might not be the option that KKR management will go for. But if somehow the player is managed to slot himself regularly in the Playing XI, he could be a good choice for captaincy.
Tim Southee
Another option who could be a good captain for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is the New Zealand cricket team’s captain Tim Southee. Southee played brilliantly in the IPL 2022 for the team, but with the addition and homecoming of former star player Lockie Ferguson, it is likely that he won’t be a regular in the playing XI in the team.
Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine is a legend for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Caribbean mystery spinner has been an important member of the Kolkata Knight Riders team since joining them back in the year 2012, the year they won their first IPL and he played huge role to it. Since then, he has been a part of the team but don’t have much captaincy experience. He led parent team Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) in the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20) in UAE but his lost 8 matches and won only 1 match in total 10 matches. However still, he is one big candidate to be leading the side.
Nitish Rana
After being a failure and struggled to make it to the Playing XI for the Mumbai Indians, Nitish Rana joined KKR in 2018 and has been phenomenal for the team since then that saw him make it to the Indian team’s squad as well. Rana is being touted as a great leader because of his leadership qualities. He led the Delhi state team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022 and took them till the Quarter-finals. He contributed brilliantly with both bat and ball as he scored 317 runs and also took 11 wickets in 8 matches. He is currently being touted as the best option to lead KKR if Shreyas Iyer is not available for IPL 2023.
