The Kolkata Knight Riders have the likes of Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Ishant Sharma, Shoaib Akhtar, Brendon McCullum, David Hussey, and Umar Gul in their ranks as well as Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik.
Sourav Ganguly is the only high-profile Indian in the batting line-up. With only four foreign players allowed in the playing XI, it leaves them with a brittle middle order. Their only purchases on Tuesday were Iqbal Abdulla and Siddharth Kaul, both bowlers. It means the likes of Laxmi Ratan Shukla and other local players would need to fill the void in the middle.