Kolkata Knight Riders desperately need to get a win in order to stay alive in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Ajinkya Rahane and co. are currently at the bottom of the points table with zero wins to their name so far in this season. From batting to bowling, nothing has worked for the three-time champions so far, and it is surely a worrying sign for a franchise that has a bunch of promising players.
For starters, KKR will have to make a forced change to their top order, given Finn Allen’s repeated failures. Rahane cannot be replaced as he is the captain, although his slow-paced knocks so far has been a burden for the team. In terms of bowling, KKR are already impacted by the injuries to Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, and therefore have to depend on an inexperienced line-up. The best that they can hope for is that Mateesha Pathirana is fit to play the contest against GT and can bolster the pace department.
Predicted KKR playing XI vs GT
Tim Siefert, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkish Raghuvanshi (WK), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
Impact player: Matheesha Pathiana
Change in opening combo
Finn Allen was quite impressive in the initial two matches but has faltered since then. After commencing his debut IPL campaign on a positive note with a 37-run knock followed by a 28-run innings, he has flopped in the last three games and has been a complete letdown for KKR. Scores of 6, 9, and 1 have put extreme pressure on the rest of the batting order. Adding fuel to the fire is Ajinkya Rahane’s slow batting. The KKR captain, who earlier defended his conventional approach, has managed only 152 runs from 5 matches at a strike rate of 149.01.
Besides, KKR’s decision use Sunil Narine as an opener once again for the first time in IPL 2026 in the game against CSK backfired. After being backed as the opener for multiple seasons, Narine was demoted and was hardly asked to bat in the first four matches. However, when he was asked to partner Allen in the game against CSK, he only managed to score 24 off 17, and was forced to depart within the powerplay. Therefore, it would be wise for KKR to use Rahane as an opener, with a new partner – Seifert. The New Zealand player was in top form in the latter half of the T20 World Cup 2026, registering knocks of 35, 58, and 52 in the last three games. KKR might as well give Allen some rest and use Seifert in his place.
Will Pathirana play?
Pathirana, who was injured during the T20 World Cup, finally got a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket before the game against CSK after clearing the mandatory fitness test. However, he did not feature in the game against his previous team and was not a part of the impact substitutes list. However, he is a must-need for KKR in their game against GT as their inexperienced pace attack desperately needs a spearhead. He could very well be used as an impact player, as he will be playing his first competitive cricket game in over two months. KKR could sub out Seifert in place of Pathirana.
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