KKR In Trouble As Express Pacer Gets Ruled Out Of IPL 2025!! Replacement Announced

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have received a huge blow before the start of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as their explosive pacer, Umran Malik, will no longer be part of the season due to injury, as the defending champions name his replacement.

Malik hasn’t played any competitive match since the end of the 2024 season of the IPL when he featured in just one encounter for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The 25-year-old is currently injured and was expected to mark his return to the KKR side a few days later.

Chetan Sakariya replaces injured Umran Malik for KKR in IPL 2025

The 25-year-old Umran Malik enjoyed his best season in the IPL in 2022 when the right-arm pacer celebrated 22 wickets in just 14 innings at an average of 20.18 and an economy rate of 9.03. His strike rate of 13.40 was really impressive, with a best bowling figure of 5/25 in an inning.

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But his form dropped terribly in the next two years, as he could collect only five wickets in nine games at an average of over 50 and an economy rate of around 12 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Injuries started to grow for the Jammu and Kashmir pacer, who, during his successful years, played 18 international white-ball games and enjoyed 24 scalps for the Indian side.

KKR was hopeful to have both the sensational pacers, Malik and South Africa’s Anrich Nortje, in the team, but now has got Chetan Sakariya, for the new edition of the tournament. The left-arm pacer is himself working his way back from injury, as he was part of the competitive game during the Ranji Trophy game for Saurashtra in February 2024.

Malik and Sakariya’s qualities for different. With the former, who was due to play the Duleep Trophy at the start of the 2024-25 domestic season before eventually withdrawing after suffering a bout of dengue and suffering a fracture on his hip, the KKR side will get the raw 150-mph pace.

Sakariya will also potentially fill for Spencer Johnson, the Knight Riders’ first-choice left-arm fast bowler. Malik could have been the replacement for Nortje, who is injury-prone.

KKR plans a balanced batting order

With the announcement of Ajinkya Rahane as their new leader for the 2025 season, KKR has found a few tough questions before them to form a balanced playing eleven. If they want to open with Sunil Narine and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock, then they will have to keep Rahane at three, as he might not work under that position.

That will push Venkatesh Iyer at four, while one of Angkrish Raghuvanshi or Manish Pandey will bat at number five, pushing Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh much down the lower middle order. In that case, they can’t also have Moeen Ali in the playing eleven.

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For the bowling department, Nortje, Johnson, Varun Chakravarthy are expected to play along with Harshit Rana. That will put the pressure on the two spinners to pick wickets in the middle overs, especially when they travel to the spinning tracks of Delhi and Chennai.

KKR to start IPL 2025 campaign against RCB

The Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will play each other in the opening match of the 2025 IPL season on March 22 at Eden Gardens. Then, on March 22, they will travel to the Barsapara Stadium to face the Rajasthan Royals.

The Knight Riders will also host the second qualifier of the event on May 23 and the final on May 25.