IPL 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders’ strongest predicted XI against Lucknow Super Giants

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will lock horns with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday, April 26.

The three-time champions find themselves at the bottom of the table despite their win in the last game against the Rajasthan Royals. They have three points from seven matches, having lost five so far. One of their matches ended without a result. However, they are set to get a massive boost as Matheesha Pathirana has linked up with the side and is expected to play on Sunday.

Lucknow Super Giants, on the other hand, are placed at No. 9, just above KKR. They have two wins and five defeats from seven games. However, they will be low on confidence, having registered four defeats in a row.

Here’s KKR’s predicted Playing XI vs LSG in Match 38, IPL 2026

Top-order: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (WK), Cameron Green

Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi could pair up at the top of the order for KKR on Sunday. Tim Seifert is expected to make way for Matheesha Pathirana, with Raghuvanshi back donning the wicketkeeping gloves. Both Rahane and Raghuvanshi started the campaign with some handy knocks, but the last few games haven’t gone their way. On the other hand, it has been the opposite for Cameron Green, who didn’t score too many runs in the first five games but looked in good touch in the last two.

Middle-order: Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy

Rovman Powell has scored 120 runs from four innings at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 139.54. Rinku Singh finally came to the party in the last game against the Rajasthan Royals, as he scored a match-winning fifty. Before that knock, Rinku had been going through a lean patch. Ramandeep Singh needs to hit his straps, as he has been given plenty of chances to get among the runs. In five innings, he has only managed 76 runs at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 133.34. Anukul Roy played a crucial hand in the last game alongside Rinku. He has also picked up important wickets with the ball.

Bowlers: Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana

Sunil Narine still has that mystery around his bowling, with batters failing to pick his subtle variations. While he has only picked up six wickets in as many games, his economy rate has been a staggering 6.83. Vaibhav Arora has been going through a disappointing season so far. In seven games, he has picked up seven wickets at an average of 37.71 and an economy rate of 11. Varun Chakaravarthy, meanwhile, seems to have returned to form after a dismal start to the season. The little break he got after sustaining an injury seems to have been a blessing in disguise. Matheesha Pathirana will be the bowler to watch out for on Sunday. KKR fans would be waiting to see how he performs after recovering from injury.

KKR’s predicted playing XI for match 38, IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (WK), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana 

Impact Player: Kartik Tyagi