||CF Correspondent||

Can Shakib al Hasan celebrate his 32nd birthday in style remains to be seen as Kolkata Knight Riders play host to the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Garden?

A lot of memories comes to my mind while talking about KKR and Eden. We had become champions while also won the heart of people. Because Kolkata and Dhaka are the very close lot of my friends came to see the match. I received a lot of love from the Eden crowd that I won’t forget,’’ SRH all-rounder was quoted ahead of the game.

“For the Eden fan I want the match to be exciting,’’ added Shakib. Both teams were among the top four teams last season; while SRH were table toppers at the end of the league stage, KKR progressed to the playoffs as the team that finished third. However, neither team went on to lay hands on the silverware; KKR lost to SRH in the third playoff match (Qualifier 2), while SRH themselves finished runner-up to Chennai Super Kings.

SRH have retained the bulk of the team that did so well last season. The 2016 champions will be boosted by the return of star-batsman David Warner, who missed all of last season in the aftermath of the Sandpapergate, and by the acquisitions of Jonny Bairstow and Martin Guptill. The franchise announced though that Kane Williamson, who led them to the final last season, would remain captain.

KKR, twice champions, have retained their first-choice XI from last season and have revamped almost their entire bench strength. KKR’s batting reserves may be bleak, but they have several exciting options to choose from in the fast bowling department (Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney and YarraPrithviraj). KKR received a jolt in the days leading up to the season when the exciting South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje had to pull out because of a shoulder injury; young quicks ShivamMavi and Kamlesh Nagarkotitoo failed to recover from their respective injuries and were ruled out. The franchise has signed up Sandeep Warrier (Kerala pacer) and KC Cariappa (Karnataka’s mystery spinner) as replacements.

Both teams are packed with quality all-rounders; if KKR have Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite and Sunil Narine (who has been tactically used as the opener with good returns), SRH have Shakib al Hasan, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney