When an in-form Phil Salt left the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp for national duty ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs, there was a concern over his replacement. Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz who had not played a single game of the season joined KKR but there were doubts whether he will be able to fill Salt’s big shoes as the latter was their second-highest run-scorer in the season. But Gurbaz made the opportunity count with a fiery cameo to get the run chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) underway. After the comprehensive eight-wicket win, Gurbaz revealed that his mother is still recovering in the hospital back home.
“My mother is still recovering in the hospital, I speak to her every day. But I knew my KKR family needed me here once Phil Salt left. So I came back from Afghanistan, and I'm happy to be here. My mother is happy for me too,” Gurbaz said in the post-match press conference.
Gurbaz’s electrifying cameo
In the run chase of 160, Gurbaz got off the mark with a boundary against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In the second over, he made up for the dot deliveries by hitting SRH captain Pat Cummins for a maximum. He smashed a six and a four off Bhuvneshwar's wicket. In the fourth over, his cameo came to an end. He lost his wicket to left-arm pacer T Natarajan. The opener scored 23 runs from 14 balls and got KKR off to a blazing start.
Iyer praises Gurbaz
Skipper Shreyas Iyer lauded Gurbaz for his cameo as he said in the post-match presentation: “It was Gurbaz's first game and he gave an impactful start.”
Gurbaz was impressive behind the wickets as well. He took the catches of Nitish Reddy and Cummins.
KKR will now face the winner of the Qualifier 2 in the IPL 2024 final at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on May 26.
Gurbaz’s numbers in IPL 2023
Gurbaz made his IPL debut in 2023. He scored 227 runs from 11 games at an average of 20.64 including two half-centuries. His strike rate was 133.53.
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