Manish Pandey can be a good step on Vice-Capture Venkatesh Iyer

It has been an underwhelming campaign for KKR in IPL 2025, where they have won only three matches out of the seven played. They still have a bright chance of making it to the playoffs, if they improve on their batting massively. In their last clash against PBKS, they could not chase down 111, and were bundled out for 95. That would have dented their confidence a great deal, but it is time for them to move on.

They face GT on Monday, and crucial two points are on the line. InsideSport takes a look at the KKR predicted XI vs GT.

Sunil Narine Cannot be an Opener When Chasing

One can understand KKR’s temptation to open with Sunil Narine, but the ploy can just backfire, in high-pressure chases. He might be a great dasher when bating first, but then very visibly pressure gets to him, when batting second. Instead, a more regular Quinton De Kock should open with Ajinkya Rahane, while Narine can come in lower middle-order.

Get Rid of Vice Captain Venkatesh Iyer

One of the batting changes that KKR can go for is, Venkatesh Iyer, who has been poor with the bat this season. In 7 matches he just has 121 runs to his name, out of which he scored a 60 too. Average of 24 isn’t doing Kolkata any good. Someone like a Manish Pandey can be picked over him, who is a gun fielder too.

Moeen Ali for Anrich Nortje?

Spin is something that works well for KKR. The team can also consider getting in Moeen Ali for Anrich Nortje. The former offers a great hitting option for the team too. But then the removal of Nortje would mean, scarce pace bowling options. This is a call that would need to be taken carefully.

KKR Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock(wk), Ajinkya Rahane(c), Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.