The Kolkata Knight Riders versus Punjab Kings IPL 2023 match may be cancelled due to Cyclone Mocha. The cyclone is forming over the southeast Bay of Bengal and may intensify into a storm. This has put West Bengal on high alert, and the match may be washed out. The Indian Meteorological Department has warned fishermen to stay away from the sea as windspeeds may reach 40-50 kmph.
Although the drainage facilities at the venue are top-class and the game may still happen, it will be a cloudy day in Kolkata with scattered rains. Kolkata Knight Riders would be favourites as they are coming into the game on the back of a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Punjab lost to Mumbai in their last encounter. It is a big game for both sides as the race for the playoff berth heats up.
The squads for the match are Kolkata Knight Riders, featuring Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Anukul Roy, Suyash Sharma, N Jagadeesan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mandeep Singh, Tim Southee, David Wiese, Umesh Yadav, and Aarya Desai. Punjab Kings Squad includes Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Baltej Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa, and Gurnoor Brar.
The article originally appeared in SportsKolkata and was updated on May 8, 2023, at 8:59 AM IST.