Gautam Gambhir Pushes KKR To Sign Sarfaraz Khan For IPL 2024: Report
New Delhi: Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Rider have reportedly shown interest in signing Sarfaraz Khan to strengthen KKR’s middle-order batting. The development comes in on the advice of mentor and former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir after Sarfaraz’s impressive Test debut in Rajkot against England last week. Notably, Sarfaraz went unsold in IPL 2024 player’s auction that took place in Dubai last year in December.
According to a report in Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika, Gambhir has pushed for the signing of the 26-year-old, who had earlier played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals in IPL. The report also states that Chennai Super Kings and RCB have also shown interest in signing Sarfaraz for the upcoming edition after his 62 and 68 not out on Test debut.
Sarfaraz, who was released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2024 players’ auction, had a base price of Rs 20 lakhs. Notably, all the three franchises have enough money in their remainng purse to acquire Sarfaraz. While Chennai Super Kings have Rs 1 crore, RCB and KKR are left with Rs 2.85 crore and Rs 1.35 crore respectively.
In IPL 2023, Sarfaraz managed just 53 runs from four games. Earlier, Sarfaraz had made headlines when he was roped in by RCB at Rs 50 lakhs at the age of 17 years in 2015. He had become the youngest player to feature in IPL at that time. A year later, Sarfaraz emerged as second-highest run-getter for India in the 2016 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh with 355 runs from six games.
Earlier on Monday, KKR named Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement for English speedster Gus Atkinson. The Sri Lankan pacer came at his base price of Rs 50 lakh. Known for his pace, who can trouble the batters with his swing and seam movements, Chameera was a part of Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 and 2021 IPL seasons, respectively.
He represented Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 season, where he picked up nine wickets from 12 matches. For the unknown, it was a homecoming for Gambhir at KKR. The two-time World Cup winner had played for KKR from 2011 to 2017 and led the side to two titles in 2012 and 2014. During that time, he also led the side qualify for IPL Playoffs five time and reached the finals of now-defunct Champions League T20 in 2014.