Kolkata Knight Riders’ Setback: Umran Malik Out of IPL 2025
Defending Champions Lose Key Pacer to Injury
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the current IPL champions, face a major setback as pacer Umran Malik is ruled out of the 2025 season due to an injury.
Umran Malik’s IPL Journey
Umran Malik rose to fame during his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2021 to 2024. His exceptional pace attracted attention, leading to his purchase by KKR for ₹75 lakh in the IPL 2025 mega auction in Saudi Arabia.
Chetan Sakariya Joins KKR as Replacement
To fill the gap left by Umran Malik, KKR has signed Chetan Sakariya, a left-arm pacer who has played for India in one ODI and two T20Is. Sakariya has taken 20 wickets in 19 IPL games and joined KKR for ₹75 lakh.
Umran Malik’s IPL Performance
Umran Malik debuted in the IPL in 2021, playing three games and taking two wickets. His best season was 2022, where he claimed 22 wickets in 14 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, his performance declined in the following two seasons, with only five wickets in nine matches.
Chetan Sakariya’s IPL Performance
Chetan Sakariya made his IPL debut in 2021, taking 14 wickets in 14 matches for Rajasthan Royals. His performance dipped in the next two seasons, with just six wickets. Sakariya signed with Delhi Capitals in 2022 and was later bought by KKR for the 2024 season, but he did not play any matches.
Chetan Sakariya’s T20 Record
In all T20 matches, Chetan Sakariya has taken 65 wickets from 46 games at an economy rate of 7.69.
KKR’s Updated Squad for IPL 2025
- Rinku Singh
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Sunil Narine
- Andre Russell
- Harshit Rana
- Ramandeep Singh
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Quinton de Kock
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Anrich Nortje
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Vaibhav Arora
- Mayank Markande
- Rovman Powell
- Manish Pandey
- Spencer Johnson
- Luvnith Sisodia
- Ajinkya Rahane
- Anukul Roy
- Moeen Ali
- Chetan Sakariya
