SWOT Analysis of Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2024 season

The Indian Premier League(IPL) 2024 is all set with all the squads complete and it is about time to talk about another team which has one of the best in the league as well. It is none other than the Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR). The boys from the East have won the title twice in 2012 and 2014, making them one of the best teams in IPL history. The Knight Riders are known to pick some of the most exciting sets of players in their team. It will be interesting to see how the men in gold and purple will have planned for the upcoming season. They have spent a lot of money on this squad and will want it to be the title-winning team which they have been dreaming of for 10 years.

Despite the rich history of the franchise the Knight Riders have had a disappointing last two seasons. They have finished 7th in the 2022 and 2023 seasons and will be looking to come back stronger in the next one. With Shreyas Iyer back in the mix as their captain, they will be hoping to do much better this season. Other than that they have a much newer and younger squad than last season. It will be interesting to see how they gel together as a team and finally go for their 3rd title.

The biggest asset for KKR last season was the powerful batter from Aligarh Rinku Singh, who was one of the highest run scorers for the Knights. His big hits down the order had one them a lot of matches last season, including the game where he smacked 5 sixes in an over to win the game against the Gujarat Titans. He was surely one of the few positive outcomes KKR had in what was again one of their most disappointing seasons. The Knights will still back the big-hitting southpaw in the 2024 season as well.

SWOT Analysis of KKR

Strength- A great set of all-rounders and attacking spin options

There are a lot of all-rounders in this KKR squad who add a lot of depth to the squad. The likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are a big asset to any T20 side with their ability to change the game with both bat and ball. The addition of Sherfane Rutherford and the young Angkrish Raghuvanshi will add many options to their team. Apart from the all-rounders they also have some quality spinners as well, who can take wickets in the middle overs. The addition of Mujeeb Ur Rahman will just strengthen the spin attack further. These will be one thing KKR will look to unleash in the tournament.

Weakness- Inexperience pace attack and Opening batter conundrum

Apart from Mitchell Starc, one of their strike bowlers going into the season, they still do not have enough experience and flair in that pace attack. Chetan Sakariya and Gus Atkinson are talented, but they are still not experienced enough to handle the pressure. The other problem is to have a proper opening batter in the side as well. This was a problem faced by the side last season as well. They do have the likes of Rahmunullah Gurbaz and Jason Roy, but with them being foreigners an Indian opener has to be in the mix which will make it difficult for the team once again.

Opportunities- Young talent to unleash

There are a lot of young and talented individuals who can surprise the other franchises and be the X factor. We have already seen the performance of Suyash Sharma last season with his deceiving leg spin bowling and Sakariya with his ability to swing the ball can be threatening as well. These will be some great options for skipper Shreyas Iyer to groom and turn them into great players in the future. The addition of Angkrish Raghuvanshi with his great performances in U-19 can also be something to look at.

Weakness- Too many foreigners could lead to problems

One threat that KKR will struggle with is the amount of foreigners they have in their squad. On the other hand, some of these foreigners are match-winning players as well. This can cause a lot of problems related to team building and choosing the playing eleven with only four foreigners allowed in a playing squad. It will be something that the Knight Riders need to plan and work towards to play with their best team possible even if it means that they might have to leave out some players.