Kolkata Knight Riders, who have lifted the title at the Indian Premier League (IPL) on two occasions, will look to begin their campaign at the 2020 edition of the tournament on a winning note when they lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 31.
In February, the Dinesh Karthik-led side had taken to their official Twitter handle to reveal their home and away fixtures for league stage of the IPL.
While KKR will face the Virat Kohli-led side in the first match, their first home encounter will be against Delhi Capitals on April 3 at Eden Gardens.
"THE WAIT IS OVER. We get our #IPL2020 journey underway against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 31! First encounter at Eden will be a face-off against Delhi Capitals on April 3! #KKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #IPL," KKR had tweeted.
#IPLSchedule We get our #IPL2020 journey underway against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on 31 March!
First encounter at Eden will be a face-off against Delhi Capitals on 3 April! #KKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #IPL pic.twitter.com/uEyQW8k9ll
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) February 16, 2020
A total of seven matches will be played at home and as many league clashes away. The Kolkata-based franchise's last league stage match will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 15.
However, there has been a big change in the schedule this year. The IPL has done away with doubleheaders on Saturdays--which means only six doubleheaders will be held this season only on Sundays.
In order to accommodate these extra matches, the league stage will now take place for six weeks instead of five weeks.
During IPL Player's Auction in December, the Kolkata-based franchise spent a total of 27.15 crore on nine new players--with Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins becoming the most expensive overseas cricketer in the history of the tournament after being roped in for a whopping Rs 15.50 crore.
Squad:
Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Praveen Tambe, Nikhil Naik
