Kolkata Knight Riders have faced a major blow as pacer Umran Malik has been ruled out ahead of IPL 2025 season due to injury. Following this a new replacement has been announced and KKR signed left-arm fast bowler Chetan Sakariya.
Return Of Chetan Sakariya To Kolkata Knight Riders
The 27-year-old pacer was a member of KKR’s championship-winning team in IPL 2024, but he didn’t get to play during the entire season. Following his failure to draw any bids during the mega auction last year, Sakariya has now found a spot in the team as a replacement signing, joining for the same price of ₹75 lakh.
This provides a new opportunity to Sakariya, who would be looking forward to leaving an imprint this year after losing game time last year. His signing bolsters the pace attack of KKR by introducing variety in the form of his left-arm action and the ability to swing the ball.
Sakariya’s IPL Career
Chetan Sakariya made his IPL debut in 2021 with Rajasthan Royals where he showed his incredible skills in both powerplay and death overs. In 2022 he was picked by Delhi Capitals. He has played 3 IPL seasons till now which includes 19 matches and 20 wickets with an economy of 8.43.
With this signing, KKR has strengthened their fast-bowling unit, and Sakariya will be eager to make the most of this opportunity if given a chance in the playing XI.
KKR Updated Squad
Rinku Singh (retained), Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer (pace), Andre Russell (pace; retained), Sunil Narine (spin; retained), Ramandeep Singh (pace; retained), Anukul Roy (spin), Moeen Ali (spin), Varun Chakravarthy (retained), Mayank Markande, Harshit Rana (retained), Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Chetan Sakariya
