NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana won the toss and opted to field against Punjab Kings in the first afternoon game of the season at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
For their season opener, KKR have included Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who makes his IPL debut.
Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza has also been named in the playing XI for Punjab Kings.
"It has rained in the last two days so there would be some moisture. I am excited because very few people get this opportunity (to captain an IPL side). The impact player rule is in its initial stage. We have to see that the decisions we take prove to be right," said Rana at the toss.
"Getting the impact player in the second innings can create more of an impact. Happy to bat first. We have got a balanced side, so hopefully we will do good. The team preparation has been good and we will look to dominate the game, hoping for a great season ahead. We are eager to win the trophy and I am looking to lead from the front," said Shikhar Dhawan.
Teams:
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
