Sarfaraz Khan is reportedly set to join Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).
The right-handed batsman surprisingly went unsold in the auction held in December last year. Before that, he was released by Delhi Capitals after failing to do well in IPL 2023. He played four games for the Delhi-based outfit and managed to score a modest 53 runs. While his talent with the bat is well known, franchises decided against bidding for him in the auction.
However, things are likely to change for the Mumbai star after his stunning debut for Team India in Tests. Sarfaraz Khan hit the ground running in international cricket, scoring fifties in both innings of the recently concluded Rajkot Test against England. In the first innings, he scored 62 off just 66 balls before smashing an unbeaten 68 off 72 balls in the second innings.
Sarfaraz Khan on KKR’s radar:
With Sarfaraz Khan impressing on his Test debut, two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders are reportedly interested in securing his services for IPL 2024. According to a report in the Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika, KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir has pushed for the signing of the batsman. The former KKR captain has advised the franchise to sign the batsman in order to strengthen the batting order.
🚨 RUMOUR : KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir has advised the franchise authorities to strengthen the batting line-up with Sarfaraz Khan as they are looking to bring in Sarfaraz Khan. (Anandabazar Patrika) pic.twitter.com/l9OixRMZT5
— Rokte Amar KKR 🟣🟡 (@Rokte_Amarr_KKR) February 20, 2024
While Sarfaraz Khan has done well in the domestic circuit and has also made a promising start in international cricket, he has not really managed to impress in the IPL. He has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals so far and has not really managed to do well. He has scored only 585 runs in 50 matches in the IPL so far.
Talking about KKR, the Kolkata-based outfit will be desperate to do well in IPL 2024. They have not won the league since 2014 and will be aiming to go all the way this year. Ahead of the season, they have signed up Gambhir as their mentor and will also be bolstered by the return of Shreyas Iyer who missed the last season due to a back injury.
