Domestic batting crew key to KKR's success

Gautam Gambhir (capt), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Woakes, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Trent Boult

Batsmen - Sheldon Jackson, Darren Bravo, Chris Lynn, Ishank Jaggi

Bowlers - Ankit Rajpoot, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sayan Ghosh, Piyush Chawla

Allrounders - Colin de Grandhomme, Rovman Powell, Sanjay Yadav, Rishi Dhawan

Knight Riders' strength lies in their roster of experienced domestic cricketers, especially with the bat. Read: Gambhir, Uthappa, Pandey, Suryakumar. A measured start, with wickets in hand, followed by a late flourish from their allrounders has been the tested winning formula for the two-time IPL champions. And they have quite a few power-hitting allrounders to do that for them this time too: Yusuf, Shakib, Rovman. Knight Riders also have three spinners - each of whom have their own style - in Narine, Kuldeep - who will be raring to go after a memorable domestic season that culminated in a Test debut at Dharamsala - and Chawla. The spin-bowling department possesses variety that can unnerve even the best.

Their bench strength is not the best, with the only experienced, big names in the reserves being Lynn, Coulter-Nile and Bravo. Furthermore, Knight Riders' bowling remains over-dependent on Narine's spin. The West Indies bowler has been crucial to the franchise's successes and failures, and his average show last year - 11 wickets, at an economy of 7.12 - corresponded with his team's moderate performance. In addition, Umesh's absence for the first couple of weeks is likely to affect the team dynamics early on in the campaign.

Lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator after finishing fourth in the league.

Knight Riders have preferred to be sparing with their team changes, but will be forced to make some alterations this year. They have already had to make one with Colin de Grandhomme being called up to replace Andre Russell, who, considered "irreplaceable" by Gambhir, will miss the IPL after a doping-code violation ban. Lynn's top form at the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League and Big Bash League, along with other new allrounder reinforcements in Woakes and Powell, might put pressure on Shakib - currently the world's best allrounder across all formats. Boult, currently recovering from injury, is another new entrant and will spearhead Knight Riders' pace-attack on a relaid Eden Gardens pitch that offered seamers more help in the recent India-New Zealand Test there than it would have previously.

Two of Knight Riders' overseas players have international commitments during the IPL. Shakib's commitments in Sri Lanka will see him miss Knight Riders' opening match against Gujarat Lions on April 7, while the Ireland-Bangladesh-New Zealand tri-series in May will see him and Boult leave the tournament before Knight Riders' final league game against Mumbai Indians on May 13.

With four victories out of seven matches at the Eden Gardens, Knight Riders fared better at home than away, where their win-loss record stood level at four each in eight matches. Out of the eight times they won, six of them were while batting second.