Kolkata Knight Riders came into the IPL 2023 mini auction with the least purse amount remaining, and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was their top buy at 1.50 crores INR, while they also acquired Namibian all-rounder David Wiese at 1 crore INR. 

Kolkata Knight Riders finished 7th on the IPL 2022 points table, and with the addition of young talents, the two-time IPL champions would look to perform better in the IPL 2023 under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer. 

Best Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI for IPL 2023: 

1. Venkatesh Iyer (552 runs at 120.78 with 5 half-centuries; 3 wickets in 22 matches)
2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz
3. Shreyas Iyer (c) (2,776 runs in 101 matches, 31.54 average & 125.38 strike rate, 50x19)
4. Nitish Rana (2.181 runs in 91 matches, 28.32 average & 134.21 strike rate, 50x15)
5. Rinku Singh (251 runs in 17 matches, 20.91 average & 130.05 strike rate)
6. Andre Russell (2,035 runs at 177.88 with 10 half-centuries; 89 wickets in 98 matches)
7. Sunil Narine (1,025 runs at 162.69 with 4 half-centuries; 152 wickets in 148 matches)
8. Shardul Thakur (173 runs at 129.10; 82 wickets in 75 matches)
9. Umesh Yadav (135 wickets in 133 matches)
10. Lockie Ferguson (36 wickets in 35 matches)
11. Varun Chakravarthy (42 wickets in 42 matches)