Kolkata Knight Riders are expected to make a couple of changes to their playing XI for their tie against CSK. KKR return to the MA Chidambaram stadium – the venue where they lifted IPL 2024 trophy after beating SRH. After losing to GT in their previous game, Rahane & co. will look to return to winning ways as they take on a struggling CSK.
KKR predicted XI vs CSK
| Position | Player | Role |
| 1. | Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)  |
Batter |
| 2. | Sunil Narine |
All-rounder |
| 3. | Ajinkya Rahane (C) | Batter |
| 4. | Venkatesh Iyer | All-rounder |
| 5. | Rinku Singh | Batter |
| 6. | Andre Russell |
Batter |
| 7. | Ramandeep Singh | All-rounder |
| 8. | Moeen Ali |
All-rounder |
| 9. | Harshit Rana | Bowler |
| 10. | Varun Chakravarthy | Bowler |
| 11. | Vaibhav Arora | Bowler |
Gurbaz to replace de Kock?
Ever since his 97-run knock in KKR vs RR, de Kock has failed to fire. This could prompt the team to try & play the benched Gurbaz in the tie against CSK. The South African has scores of 4, 97, 1, 1 and 15 so far in IPL 2025.
KKR will rely heavily on their openers to deliver at Chepauk. Narine managed to break free from a string of poor scores with a 30-run knock in the previous game. While Rahane and co. are highly unlikely to shift Narine to the lower-order, it only makes sense if they replace de Kock with Gurbaz.
Spin-heavy XI loading?
The surface at Chepauk warrants for Moeen Ali’s inclusion in the playing XI. Spinners will indeed play a crucial role in the slow-paced game against CSK. Hence, KKR would want to go with the combo of Varun, Narine and Ali. After all, Ali and Chakravarthy are very familiar with the conditions at Chepauk.
Russell will serve as the medium pacer who can mix and match. Arora and Rana will comprise of the pace unit.
KKR squad for IPL 2025
Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Spencer Johnson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Chetan Sakariya
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