Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did a considerable squad overhaul at the recent Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) auction after a subpar last season, where they finished eighth in the points table. With quite a few new additions, Kolkata will have some key decisions to take regarding the KKR Playing XI – one of which will be the opening pair.
KKR, over the past few seasons, have used an overseas wicketkeeper-batter alongside Sunil Narine to open the innings. In IPL 2024, it was Phil Salt while last season, it was Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. However, for IPL 2026, new coach Abhishek Nayar has clarified that Narine won’t open the innings.
This essentially means that either of the two new OS keepers – Tim Seifert and Finn Allen will open with Ajinkya Rahane at the other end. In such a case, Narine will have to drop down to 7 or 8 and play in the finisher’s role.
But will that be the wisest decision? Let’s check some statistics to find out.
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The swashbuckling left-handed batter enjoyed a breakthrough season in IPL 2024, where he smashed 488 runs, including a century and three fifties, to help KKR win their third title. While 2024 was Narine’s highlight year with the bat, his overall stats when batting at the top is also decent with 1463 runs in 65 innings, at an average of 22.9 and a fiery strike rate of 175.8.
With the only drawback being Narine’s lack of consistency, he still packs incredible firepower and poses a danger factor for the opposition to put them on the back foot early.
Given Sunil Narine has blown hot and cold while opening, using him as a non-opener could end up underutilising his batting potential.
Looking at the stats, Narine’s numbers go down drastically when he is not opening. While batting outside of the top-order, he has played 53 innings and accumulated only 317 runs, with his average down to single-digits at 9.1 and his strike rate losing its sting with 133.8.
If Sunil Narine doesn’t open, either Seifert or Allen will pair up with Ajinkya Rahane with Cameron Green following at No.3. This means the middle order will be Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, followed by Narine at 7 or 8. Rinku, Ramandeep, Narine are all hitters and KKR might find themselves in a spot of bother if the top order doesn’t get going and manage to build a foundation.
On the other hand, opening with Narine gives KKR an extra overseas slot which they can use for someone like a Rovman Powell to add another quality attacker in the batting order. The wicketkeeper duties can be entrusted with Raghuvanshi or the new recruit Tejasvi Dahiya..
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