Three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders signed as many as 13 players in the IPL 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (December 16) to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2026 edition. KKR secured
the services of Australian all-rounder Cameron Green for Rs 25.20 crore and also signed Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana (for Rs 18 crore) and Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman (for Rs 9.20 crore). The trio, along with the likes of Tim Seifert, Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra, will be key players for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team in the 19th edition of the world’s richest franchise cricket league.
Also Read: Full List Of SOLD Players At IPL 2026 Auction
In IPL 2026, one out of Finn Allen or Tim Seifert will keep the gloves for the Kolkata-based franchise and also open the innings with legendary spin-bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine. Narine is a three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) in IPL history, and along with dismissing more than 190 batters in the IPL for KKR, he has also played many impactful knocks with the bat as an opener for KKR.
Ajinkya Rahane was KKR skipper in IPL 2025, and if he remains in charge of the side in 2026 as well, then in all likelihood, he will bat at No. 3, followed by Green at 4, Rinku Singh at 5, and Ramandeep Singh at 6.
Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora will lead KKR’s bowling attack in the 2026 season and will have Mustafizur and Pathirana for support, whereas the onus of spin bowling will be on world No. 1 T20I bowler Varun Chakaravarthy.
They have Akash Deep, Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi as three backup Indian pacers, and the list of backup batters includes the likes of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey and Rahul Tripathi.
Former West Indies T20I captain Rovman Powell and New Zealand’s batting all-rounder Rachin are unlikely to start for KKR, but the possibility of their inclusion as the tournament progresses can’t be ignored.
KKR Best Playing XI For IPL 2026: Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert (WK), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Mustafizur Rahman, Varun Chakaravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana
KKR Full Squad For IPL 2026
- Batters: Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Cameron Green, Rahul Tripathi
- Bowlers: Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Varun Chakaravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Mustafizur Rahman, Akash Deep
- All-rounders: Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Daksh Kamra, Sarthak Ranjan, Rachin Ravindra
- Wicketkeepers: Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Tim Seifert
