Kolkata Knight Riders will have to some forced changes to their playing XI if they want to fancy a chance of opening their account in IPL 2026 in the game against an unbeaten Punjab Kings on Monday. Despite boasting of a strong unit on paper, three-time champions have suffered two consecutive losses in the ongoing season, having been handed defeats by MI and SRH. Ajinkya Rahane and co. will take on Shreyas Iyer and party in their second home game of , but it won’t be any easy task.
Among the top concerns for KKR is a misfiring Cameron Green. The Australian all-rounder was picked for a whooping Rs 25.20 crore in the IPL 2026 mini-auction but has absolutely failed to perform with the bat and has been least utilized as a bowler as well. Captain Rahane faces additional pressure to perform well, especially after he hit out at critics publically over the comments on his strike rate. While Muzarbani has done well for the side thus far, the onus will be on the reat of the bowlers to step up. Ahead of the c;ash against PBKS, let us take a look at KKR’s predicted XI.
Predicted KKR playing XI vs PBKS
| Position | Player | Role |
| 1. | Finn Allen | Opener |
| 2. | Ajinkya Rahane (C) | Opener |
| 3. | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | Batter |
| 4. | Cameron Green | Batter |
| 5. | Rinku Singh | Batter |
| 6. | Anukul Roy | Batter |
| 7. | Ramandeep Singh | All-rounder |
| 8. | Sunil Narine | All-rounder |
| 9. | Varun Chakravarthy | Spinner |
| 10. | Blessing Muzarabani | Fast-bowler |
| 11. | Vaibhav Arora | Fast-bowler |
KKR are expected to give a long rope to Finn Allen and allow him to continue as the opener in their 3rd contest of IPL 2026. Coming in as an impact player in the previous game against SRH, the KKR opener raced to 28 runs off just 7 balls before he was sent packing. Meawhile, it was captain Rahane who was a let down for the team as he scored just 8 runs off 10 deliveries. In the contest against PBKS, it will be important for both openers to go all guns blazing.
Angkish Raghuvanshi has been the best batter for KKR so far in IPL 2026 with scores of 51 and 52 against MI and SRH respectively. Amongst an underpeforming and inconsistent unit, he has proven to be a gem and will be counted upon once again to ace his role as number 3. Meanwhile, it is Cameron Green who has been an absolute failure.
Will Green bowl? Unlikely.
While Cricket Australia clarified last week that the all-rounder is being closely managed owing to the lower back injury that he sustained last year and hence has not been bowling in the IPL, he has been more of a liability than an asset for KKR. With the bat, he has managed to score 18 and 2 runs in two games. While he is unlikely to bowl in the contest against PBKS as he is expected to resume bowling only after few more days, KKR will expect him to start firing with the bat. He is unlikely to be dropped from the playing XI, however.
Will KKR give Umran Malik a chance?
While Vaibhav Arora and Blessing Muzarabani have been a hit for KKR in IPL 2026, it is the veterans Narine and Chakravarthy who are yet to find their right footing in the season. The Zimbabwe pacer finished with figures of 4/41 in the previous game against SRH while Arora finished with 2/47 to his name. Karthik Tyagi managed to pick up just one wicket while having conceded 48 runs in his four overs. KKR could might as well replace him with Umran Malik in their playing XI vs PBKS, with the J&K pacer rearing to go.
Umran Malik made his IPL debut way back in 2021 and was a part of SRH for 4 seasons where he played 26 matches and picked up 29 wickets. However, he managed to play only one full season – in 2022. Malik warmed the bench throughout IPL 2025 despite being bought by KKR for Rs 75 lakh – largely due to injury concerns. His injury-prone nature saw him take several months to recover, and now he is fully fit to take part in IPL 2026.
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