Kolkatta Knight Riders

Considering the consideration of all players signed up for Kolkatta for IPL Season 2 are available for selection, following XI would be my pick.

C.Gayle,McCullum,S.Ganguly,D.Hussey,C.Pujara,LRShukla,W.Saha,A.Agarkar,I.Sharma,Mendis,A.Dinda.

Openers:
Whenever available (First 6 games), Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum should open the inning. I am not sure, if Ganguly wants to bat at number 3 position but Gayle and McCullum could be more dangerous than Sehwag/Gambhir or Tendulkar/Jayasurya. Specially since Gayle and McCullum are injury free and available for first six games. When Gayle is not available in May,Ganguly can join McCullum to open the inning. If Ganguly gets settled playing at number 3 then Akash Chopra can fill in(However this is very unlikely scenario).


Middle Order:
Unlike Delhi DD, Kolkatta has better and strong middle order. Given the circumstances that Gayle and McCullum would open the inning, they will have Ganguly, D.Hussey, C.Pujara, L.R.Shukla in the middle order. Specially D.Hussey would should be available for first couple of games and then last 4. D.Hussey is in prime form and match winner in 20-20 format. C.Pujara seems a better option than M.Tiwari from Delhi. In case of D.Hussey's absence, Brad Hodge can be a good replacement.

In the month of May, when Gayle would not be available, M.Mortaza would be the replacement.

Wicket Keeper:
Most Likely, W.Saha is going to keep the wickets. If he is unable to provide depth in the batting then McCullum who should be available for entire IPL could be used to keep the wickets. In Those circumstances an extra allrounder or batsman could be used in the lower middle order. (For Example: M.Mortaza or Lahiri).

Bowling Department:
Even without the presence of Shoaib Akhtar, Kolkatta has strong bowling line up. They have A.Dinda who was phenomenal in IPL-1 and continued his good performances in the Ranji games. Ishant Sharma is an ace bowler. A.Agarkar could be very handy.

Mendis would be the only person in most matches who would be an overseas player in the bowling department. Langervelt and Mortaza can be used if required to support the bowling.

All and all, Kolkatta team's fate would be decided in the first 6 games when Gayle would be available for selection.If Kolkatta manage to win 4 out of 6 first games then they will have good chance of winning total of 8 games and qualify for Semi-Final. A lot would depend upon Gayle/McCullum much like Sehwag/Gambhir and Tendulkar/Jayasurya, however, Kolkatta has advantage of having better bowling side and presence of Ganguly and D.Hussey in the middle order.

My Prediction says, Kolkatta will win 8 games and have to battle out the final spot of Semi-Final depending upon a difference of a game or run rate.