ILT20 TEAM GUIDE: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein are at the heart of this Knight Riders side, writes OSCAR RESS
Coach: TBC
Captain: Sunil Narine
A great of the shortest format, Sunil Narine will take charge of the team in the inaugural season of the ILT20. He is a familiar face in the Knight Riders family, having represented KKR in 148 IPL matches. He is perhaps a surprise pick as captain but will be supported by many experienced players, including five of his fellow West Indians.
Andre Russell [Francois Nel/Getty Images]
BATTING
Power hitters
They don't come better than Andre Russell, who is one of the most powerful hitters to grace the game. From 432 T20 games, he has maintained a strike rate in excess of 160 and has scored a nearly 600 sixes in the format. A proven finisher, he is warming up for the tournament with a stint with Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash.
Paul Stirling will be the Knight Riders' go-to guy in the powerplay, with the Irishman under orders to get his side off to a rapid start. He had a quiet T20 World Cup campaign by his standards but is no stranger to smashing runs in the UAE – in the 2022/23 T10 League, his 122 runs came at a strike rate of 169.44. With three centuries and 50 half-centuries in the format, he can stick around, too.
Anchor
Vastly experienced South African Colin Ingram has over 300 T20 games under his belt and will look to take some responsibility to anchor the innings. It is a role he has done well for Glamorgan in the T20 Blast and is a serial run-scorer around the world. With a strike rate in excess of 135, he won't slow the scoreboard down either.
Finisher
Aside from the obvious – Russell – fellow West Indians Narine and Akeal Hosein can also swing their bats.
Narine has opened the batting plenty of times in his T20 career and is frequently deployed as a floating pinch hitter in the CPL. He was given a lot of batting responsibility by Surrey last summer, including scoring 52 runs off 23 balls against Hampshire.
Hosein, meanwhile, only has a strike rate of 111 in the format but can give it a thwack on his day – in January last year, he struck 44 runs off 16 balls at No.10 against England.
Problem areas
Losing Jonny Bairstow to injury is a blow for this side, with responsibility now falling on Ingram to do the bulk of the run scoring. They have numerous mercurial talents and won't struggle to hit boundaries but a recruiting a consistent performer, rather than a lot of flair players, may have been a wise move.
Colin Ingram [Michael Steele/Getty Images]
BOWLING
Speed merchants
Lahiru Kumara emerged onto the international scene as a Test bowler for Sri Lanka but has developed into an all-format player who bowls very quickly. Impressive at the 2022 T20 World Cup, he picked up seven wickets and troubled many a player with his relentless pace.
Netherlands international Brandon Glover is another player who had a strong World Cup campaign, with his pace a good addition to the Dutch XI. A right-arm fast bowler like Kumara, he has 51 wickets and an economy of 7.69 from 39 T20s.
Elsewhere, USA international Ali Khan, Ravi Rampaul and Marchant de Lange offer options with the ball while Russell can chip in with a match-altering spell with the ball, taking 385 wickets across his career.
Variation
Narine is the standout here and his mystery spin is the stuff of legend. A specialist slow bowler with bags of variation, he has 474 wickets and an economy of 5.99 from 435 T20 appearances.
Elsewhere, Hosein's slow left-arm action provides further variety. A player in form, he picked up nine wickets and maintained an economy of 6.25 for Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL before heading to the Abu Dhabi T10 and taking 10 wickets in 90 deliveries. More impressively, he conceded just 6.2 runs per over – the best economy of any player to bowl more than 20 balls.
Problem areas
This is a well-rounded attack with plenty of spin and seam options. There are not many weaknesses, with the possible exception of the pace attack lacking a recognised left-arm pace bowler. UAE bowler Sabir Ali may have to step up in order to provide some variety to proceedings. A little bit of X-factor quality, again in the pace department, also wouldn't have gone amiss, with the bowling line-up unlikely to intimidate many batters.
Akeal Hosein [Aamer Qureshi/Getty Images]
Who takes the gloves?
In the absence of Bairstow, Kennar Lewis may be forced to fulfil this role, as he did for Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10. There really isn't anyone else.
Squad: Sunil Narine (c), Andre Russell, Paul Stirling, Lahiru Kumara, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Kennar Lewis, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Sabir Ali, Matiullah Khan, Zawar Farid, Fahad Nawaz, Marchant de Lange, Dhananjaya de Silva, Connor Esterhuizen, Traveen Mathew
Possible starting XI: Paul Stirling, Kennar Lewis, Colin Ingram, Charith Asalanka, Raymon Reifer, Andre Russell, Suninl Narine, Akeal Hosein, Brandon Glover, Sabir Ali, Lahiru Kumara
Fixtures: January 13 – Dubai Capitals (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm GMT), January 15 – Gulf Giants (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 10am), January 18 – Desert Vipers (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), January 20 – Desert Vipers (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm), January 21 – MI Emirates (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm), January 25 – Gulf Giants (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), January 28 – Sharjah Warriors (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 10am), January 30 – Dubai Capitals (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm), February 3 - MI Emirates (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm), February 4 – Sharjah Warriors (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm)
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