IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders Confirmed Playing XI against RCB in Opener Match

The season opener of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to kickoff with the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 22nd March, Saturday at 7:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).

Kolkata Knight Riders have let their championship-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer in the mega auction of IPL 2025. However, they have got the services of veteran cricketer Ajinkya Rahane ahead of the tournament.

Despite leaving Mitchell Starc and a few more, Kolkata Knight Riders look well balanced with the mix of power-hitters, all-rounders, mystery spinners and also including lethal pace attack in their calibre.

Hence, in this article, let’s have a look at the Playing XI of Kolkata Knight Riders in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Batters:

Quinton de Kock (wk) & Sunil Narine to Open

The southpaw from South Africa, Quinton de Kock has been one of the finest performers in the shortest format of the game. The latter has featured in 107 matches in IPL where he amassed 3157 runs that he played at an average of well around 32.

On the other side, Sunil Narine who has the habit of finding boundaries on every ball will open alongside Quinton de Kock. The latter has smashed 488 runs in 14 matches in the previous season and can expect the same in this season as well.

Ajinkya Rahane at No.3

The skipper of the side, Ajinkya Rahane can been seen batting at the number three spot for his team. He proved his worth with CSK which earned him this position in the KKR side. After showing aggressive intent in the Yellow jersey, scoring runs at a strike-rate of well around 150s, Rahane has seemed to be fit in the modern day approach.

Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh in Middle-order:

Venkatesh Iyer has turned the fortunes for KKR in the last season, including his match-winning fifty in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad as well. The franchise acquired the services of the left-handed cricketer, spending a whopping sum of INR 23.75 crores in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Rinku Singh, the designated finisher of Kolkata Knight Riders will continue his role in this edition as well. With 893 runs in his bag, the left-handed batter needs to be more responsible in the middle overs of the game.

All-rounders:

Andre Russell and Ramandeep Singh

Without any doubt, Andre Russell is one of the hardest hitters of the ball, present in modern-day cricket. He can go-through any best bowling line-up, striking over 170s. Alongside him, Ramandeep Singh didn’t score many runs for KKR in the previous season.

However, his strike rate of over 200 makes his small knocks invaluable during the crunch moments of the game. We can expect him to continue his late-hitting prowess for KKR in IPL 2025 as well.

Fast Bowling Attack:

Coming from Australia, Spencer Johnson caught the spotlight with his prolific performance in the white-ball cricket. He has the ability to contain runs in the powerplay and can give crucial breakthroughs as well.

Harshit Rana will be the lead pacer for KKR after his scintillating skills in the previous season. The right-arm pacer picked 19 wickets after getting featured in 13 games for his team.

Vaibhav Arora, on the other hand, will showcase his skills around the likes of Spencer Johnson and Harshit Rana. Arora’s ability to swing the ball on both sides will help KKR to get some early breakthroughs in the game.

Spinner

Varun Chakravarthy

The spin wizard, Varun Chakravarthy often remained as a key bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders in both powerplay and slog overs of the game. In the recently concluded Champions Trophy 2025, the mystery spinner bagged 9 wickets after featuring in just 3 games for India.

Impact Player:

Chetan Sakariya (while defending) & Manish Pandey or Moeen Ali (while chasing total).

Chetan Sakariya has struggled with his consistency after being picked by the Indian team. However, he is expected to be picked as an extra pacer, defending the total for his team.

Manish Pandey and Moeen Ali will be the other batters to be used as impact players. Manish Pandey who is often known for his stability in case if the team collapses at a low score. Moeen Ali is just opposite to the Indian southpaw, as the English cricketer likes to smash the bowlers all around the park.