IPL 2020: American pacer Ali Khan ruled out of the rest of the season with injury
Joy is indeed short-lived. Less than a month after being announced as the first American to have made it to an IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler Ali Khan has been ruled out for the remainder of this year's tournament with an injury.
It has turned out to be a double whammy for the two-time IPL champions, as they have now lost both Harry Gurney and his replacement Ali Khan to injuries. While the English left-arm pacer pulled out before the start of the tournament to have his shoulder operated upon, the nature of Khan’s injury is still unknown.
“Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders signed up Ali Khan as a replacement for injured Harry Gurney. Khan became the first USA cricketer to be signed up by an IPL franchise. Unfortunately, Khan has been injured and will miss the rest of the Dream 11 IPL 2020 season,” read an IPL statement.
Though KKR’s current bowling line-up is slowly settling into its groove and Ali Khan probably wouldn’t have gotten a game, the fact that they have just one overseas pacer in Lockie Ferguson in their dugout is a cause for concern.
So close, yet so far for Ali Khan
Ali Khan was kept as a stand-by option for KKR in IPL 2019, but he didn’t get a chance to be a part of their squad. He came a step further this year, but he will now have to wait at least another year to make his IPL debut.
Ali Khan, who was the Man of the Match in USA’s first ODI win against Kenya in 2018, came into IPL 2020 on the back of a successful Caribbean Premier League (CPL) stint with the Trinbago Knight Riders – the CPL franchise with the same parent company as KKR.
Ali Khan picked up 8 wickets in as many games at an impressive economy rate of 7.43. The Knight Riders won 12 consecutive matches and eventually a record fourth CPL title.
The IPL 2020 purple cap list has been updated, check here.