Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the two-time champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), have announced the inclusion of England's Phil Salt as the replacement for fellow countryman Jason Roy ahead of the 2024 IPL season kick-off on March 22.
In a statement released by the IPL, it was revealed that Roy opted out of the forthcoming edition due to personal reasons, paving the way for KKR to secure Salt as his substitute. Roy had joined KKR in IPL 2023 as a replacement for the injured Shreyas Iyer and the unavailable Shakib Al Hasan.
Throughout the season, Roy showcased his prowess by amassing 285 runs in eight matches, boasting an impressive average of 35.63 and a striking rate of 151.60, which included two half-centuries. Salt, on the other hand, made his IPL debut in the 2023 season, where he contributed 218 runs in nine matches for the Delhi Capitals, maintaining an average of 27.25 and a striking rate of 163.91, featuring two half-centuries.
Despite his notable performance with the Delhi Capitals in the previous season, Salt remained unnoticed during the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai. However, KKR secured his services at his base price of INR 1.5 crore. Salt's remarkable talent was further highlighted by his back-to-back T20I centuries against the West Indies in December, including a breathtaking 119 off 57 balls, reaching his century in just 48 deliveries during the fourth T20I in Trinidad, which stands as the joint-fastest ton for England in the format.
Before joining KKR, Salt had brief stints with the Pretoria Capitals in the second season of SA20 and later played for the Desert Vipers in the ILT20.
KKR is set to commence their primary pre-season training camp in Kolkata from March 15, gearing up for their IPL 2024 campaign opener against the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad at their home ground, Eden Gardens, on March 23.
The KKR squad for IPL 2024 comprises a mix of seasoned players and promising talents, including Shreyas Iyer, Phil Salt, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, K.S. Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
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