The first doubleheader weekend of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will witness a clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, with both sides boasting of million-dollar buys in Australian pace-bowling duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, during the mini-auction in December.

Bolstered by the return of captain Shreyas Iyer, and former skipper Gautam Gambhir as the team mentor, KKR will be looking for a positive start as the iconic Eden Gardens gears up for the opening game of the season.

KKR will be hoping that the return of Gambhir, who led the side to their two titles in 2012 and 2014, will reignite the spirit within the side that finished a lowly seventh on their past two IPL campaigns.

The home side boasts of a strong batting line-up with Iyer leading the pack alongside the likes of aggressive keeper-batter Phil Salt, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer, capable of destroying any quality bowling line-up on their day. Manish Pandey’s return to the side will also add depth to their batting.

In the absence of Englishman Jason Roy, who withdrew from the IPL, Salt’s inclusion gives the KKR side the liberty to play him as a floater according to the demand of the situation.

The Purple and Gold brigade also have a formidable spin-bowling line-up in Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Suyash Sharma. The only area of concern for the KKR could be the pace department, as Mitchell Starc, who was bought for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore will have to depend on the likes of young Chetan Sakariya, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana for support.

The KKR team management will also be wary of skipper Iyer’s fitness, as he has been cleared by the medical team with a rider. The Mumbai right-hander did not take the field on the last two days of his side’s Ranji Trophy final due to back stiffness. While he has been cleared to take part in the IPL, he has been advised to avoid excessive lunges while playing the forward defence, a move that could aggravate his back injury.

On the other hand, 2016 IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope for a change in fortune after another change of guard — their third in as many seasons. The franchise recently unveiled Pat Cummins, replacing Aiden Markram, as the new skipper after acquiring the Australian for a huge sum of Rs 20.50 crore, and the fast bowler will hope to emulate his teammate David Warner to win the title.

Having finished at the bottom of the 10-team points table in IPL 2023, and 8th in the 2021 and 2022 editions, Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope that the new-look squad packed with match-winners like Travis Head and Wanindu Hasaranga will turn the tables for them. With Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma in their ranks, the Orange Brigade also have the dangerous Henrich Klassen, capable of winning matches single-handedly.

On the bowling front, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will find the perfect company in Cummins to begin the proceedings, with Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik adding to the variety in their attack.

Ahead of their campaign opener, Cummins hopes his team can make an aggressive start and seize the early momentum. “A bit of planning to go and then just want to get off to a really good start. T20s are hard. Kolkata’s a good team, but I just want to see a really aggressive start to the season,” said Cummins in a video.

The 30-year-old, who had led Australia to the WTC, Ashes, and the World Cup triumphs last year, was excited to see a blend of youth and experience in the SRH ranks. “I think we’ve got a great mix. We’ve got a couple of more experienced guys like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar). Obviously, Aiden Markram was captain last year. But we’ve got some exciting young talent.”

“I’m super excited to see guys like Abhishek (Sharma), Umran Malik, these guys I’ve only seen a little bit of but super excited. So, I think fans should be pretty pumped for the season ahead,” said Cummins.