GT vs KKR: Why is Tim Southee Not Playing Today's IPL 2023 Match? Check KKR Playing XI

In an important news update, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have dropped their senior pace bowler Tim Southee for their third game of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) against the Gujarat Titans (GT) being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their first victory of the ongoing IPL 2023 season when they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by a massive margin of 81 runs in their previous encounter. It will be really important for the Kolkata Knight Riders to continue with this winning momentum further in this tournament as well.

GT vs KKR: Why is Tim Southee Not Playing Today’s IPL 2023 Match?

After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana mentioned that senior fast bowler Tim Southee is not part of the KKR Playing 11 for this GT vs KKR IPL 2023 match on Sunday. Incidentally, this seems to be only a tactical decision by the Kolkata Knight Riders team management as Southee ended up picking a couple of wickets in the first match against Punjab Kings but the conceded 25 runs in his two overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Kolkata Knight Riders have instead brought his New Zealand teammate Lockie Ferguson who bowls tearaway pace and is a consistent wicket-taker in the shorter format of the game.

“We wanted to bat first as well because of the weather and conditions. I felt defending might be easier. We had in our minds that batting first would be the way to go so that our spinners can make use of the surface in the second half but it’s okay. We have two changes. Lockie Ferguson comes in for Tim Southee and Mandeep Singh makes way for Jagadeesan,” said Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana during the toss.

KKR Playing XI

1. N Jagadeesan
2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
3. Nitish Rana (C)
4. Andre Russell
5. Rinku Singh
6. Sunil Narine
7. Shardul Thakur
8. Suyash Sharma
9. Lockie Ferguson
10. Umesh Yadav
11. Varun Chakravarthy

Tim Southee IPL 2023 Salary

The Kolkata Knight Riders picked New Zealand’s experienced pacer Tim Southee at a price of INR 1.5 crore during the IPL 2023 auction. Southee has taken as many as 47 wickets from 54 IPL matches at an economy of 8.67.

Follow Indiafantasy on Google News

For daily fantasy sports tips on your mobile phone, Fill out the form below