Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have brought in Navdeep Saini as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana, securing his services for INR 75 lakh. The move adds an experienced pace option to the squad as the franchise adjusts its lineup during the season.
Saini has represented India in two Tests, eight ODIs, and 11 T20Is, although he has not featured for the national side since 2021. In the Indian Premier League, the fast bowler has previously played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Across 32 IPL appearances, he has claimed 23 wickets at an economy rate of 8.88. His most recent IPL outing came in 2023, marking a period of inactivity similar to his absence from the India setup.
Reflecting on his return to the tournament, Saini described the opportunity as a turning point. “If I have to give this opportunity another name, I will call it revival,” Saini told KKR Knight Club. “I saw many ups and downs in the last two-three years. But the important thing was to be there and keep working hard. Ever since I started playing cricket, I have relied on hard work. So I didn’t give that up and because of that, I got this opportunity. You can say this has revived me.”
Further Squad Changes
Earlier on Monday, KKR had also signed Saurabh Dubey as a replacement for the injured Akash Deep.
Gujarat Titans (GT) made a change to their pace department, bringing in Kulwant Khejroliya to replace the injured uncapped left-arm seamer Prithvi Raj Yarra. Khejroliya joined the franchise for INR 30 lakh. He was part of the GT squad last season, featuring in one match where he returned figures of 1 for 29 from three overs.
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Khejroliya has previously represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru in five matches across the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and also played two games for KKR in 2023.
