According to the fixtures released for the first two weeks, KKR will play two home matches against SRH and KXIP on March 24 and 27 respectively.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik has admitted that he and his troops will miss the positive vibes of Eden Gardens if their home games are moved out to neutral venues because of the upcoming general elections.
"I will really miss Kolkata because there is a certain vibe, certain energy playing at Eden. Playing in front of 60,000 cheering for you makes a massive difference. If we do miss a few games, I would miss Eden gardens terribly," Karthik said on the sidelines of the Mayor's Cup at Eden Gardens.
It has been learnt that the second half of the IPL matches will clash with the Lok Sabha polls. Therefore, the BCCI is mulling over changing the tournament’s home and away format and making it venue-specific.
After getting clearance from the government, the BCCI on Tuesday (February 19) announced the itinerary for the first 17 matches of the IPL 2019. Eight centres will host two matches each, with national capital Delhi staging three games in the first segment of the cash-rich event.
KKR will play two home matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 24 and Kings XI Punjab on March 27.
Talking about the team, Karthik, who took over the captaincy of the side last year, said they have a slightly different team from last year and he is excited about the new season.
"We are slightly different to the team we had last year. We are really looking forward to it as a team. We have realised what we lacked last year and we have added resources accordingly. Thus, we are a more well-rounded team this year," the 33-year old said.
When asked about his personal goal from this season, Karthik said: "I am not somebody who sets goals per se. For some strange reason, it is not something I have enjoyed doing. If we can go out there and put our best foot on the park, and the best we can, I will be very happy."
(With IANS inputs)