IPL 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders’ strongest predicted XI against Chennai Super Kings

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) travel south to take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 22 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday, April 14. 

KKR remain the only side yet to taste victory in this year’s tournament. With four games played, the three-time champions have just one point to their name, that coming thanks to a rain-affected game against the Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens. 

The Ajinkya Rahane-led side suffered their most recent defeat at the hands of the Lucknow Super Giants in a last-over thriller. LSG needed seven runs of the last two balls with KKR favourites to win their first game of the new season. Mukul Choudhary, however, had other ideas, hitting a six off the penultimate ball from Vaibhav Arora to rescue a win from the jaws of defeat. 

Despite their poor form in the tournament, KKR are slowly finding their ideal playing XI. Their batting has been in some decent form, but they will need their bowling to fire against CSK if they wish to secure their first two points of the 2026 season.

Here is KKR’s strongest predicted XI vs CSK, Match 22, IPL 2026:

Top Order: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Cameron Green

KKR desperately need their top order to flourish against CSK to give them a solid platform to build the innings on. The opening duo of Finn Allen and Ajinkya Rahane is capable of scoring big in the first six overs of the game, but have not done it consistently.

Number three also remains a contentious topic for KKR. Depending on the start given to them by their openers, the management could send either Cameron Green or Angkrish Raghuvanshi. The latter has scored 155 runs from four innings at a strike-rate of 158.16.

Middle Order:  Angkrish Raghuvanshi (WK), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh

The middle order has let KKR down in recent games. However, there is still a wealth of quality and experience in there to threaten the opposition in the middle overs. The inclusion of Rovman Powell was required to increase the depth of their batting lineup. The Jamaican scored an unbeaten 39 at a strike-rate of 162.50 against LSG.

Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh, meanwhile, have not yet had a rememberable innings at this year’s IPL. However, their presence is still vital for scoring quick runs in the death overs.

Bowlers: Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi

Bowling has definitely been KKR’s weak point in this season’s IPL. Vaibhav Arora is currently their leading wicket-taker with five scalps to his name, followed by Blessing Muzarabani with four wickets.

Narine, meanwhile, has just two wickets to his name, but showed his calibre against LSG, where he finished his quota of four overs with an economy rate of just 3.25. 

KKR’s predicted playing XI vs CSK in Match 22, IPL 2026:

Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (WK), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi
 
Impact Player: Vaibhav Arora