Picking the combined KKR and PBKS XI ahead of IPL 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) are two of the five franchises who have been a part of all the IPL seasons played so far. The two teams were among the eight franchises that featured in the inaugural edition of the league back in 2008.

A common link between the two teams is that both franchises have a Bollywood connection. Actress Preity Zinta is a co-owner of the Punjab team, while Shah Rukh Khan is a co-owner of the Kolkata franchise.

Speaking of their performances in the league, KKR and PBKS have finished in the top four of the points table multiple times. They even met in the 2014 IPL final, where the Knight Riders defeated the Kings in a nail-biting thriller. Overall, Kolkata have won two championships, whereas Punjab are yet to win one.

Both teams have formed strong squads for the upcoming IPL 2023 season. In this listicle, we will form a combined playing XI from the Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings' IPL 2023 squads.

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Openers - Shikhar Dhawan and Venkatesh Iyer

Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan will open the batting with Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for this team. The two left-handed batters have played a few impactful innings for their respective franchises in the Indian Premier League.

Iyer had a forgettable season in 2022, but he played a pivotal role in Kolkata's runners-up finish in 2021. Dhawan, on the other hand, was the leading run-getter for Punjab in IPL 2022 with 460 runs from 14 innings.

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Middle Order - Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Andre Russell, and Sam Curran

The star-studded middle-order of this team features KKR stars Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana as the number three and number four batters, respectively. Iyer and Rana have a ton of IPL experience under their belt. They were the top two run-scorers for Kolkata in IPL 2022.

Hard-hitting all-rounders Liam Livingstone and Andre Russell will be the 'X-factor' players of this team, while wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma will play the finisher's role along with the highest-paid player in IPL, Sam Curran.

Curran and Russell will also contribute their bit in the pace-bowling department, while Livingstone can bowl a few overs of spin in the middle. All three players have the capability to win matches single-handedly for their respective teams.

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Bowlers - Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav and Arshdeep Singh

The Indian duo of Umesh Yadav and Arshdeep Singh will lead the pace attack of this playing XI. Yadav made a roaring comeback to IPL last season by scalping 16 wickets in 12 matches for the KKR team. He was the team's second-highest wicket-taker.

Arshdeep Singh has quickly become one of the best fast bowlers in Indian cricket. The left-arm pacer scalped 10 wickets in 14 matches last season at an economy rate of 7.7.

Because of the four overseas players limit, Kagiso Rabada and Jonny Bairstow missed out on a spot in this playing XI, but Sunil Narine makes the cut. The KKR all-rounder took nine wickets at an economy rate of 5.57 last season. He has also played some whirlwind knocks for the franchise.

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Best combined playing XI of KKR and PBKS

Shikhar Dhawan, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Andre Russell, Sam Curran, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh.

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Will KKR and PBKS qualify for IPL 2023 playoffs? Share your views in the comments.