Only about a month after revealed that Ali Khan will be the first American to join the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The American pace bowler has been withdrawn for the rest of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) tournament due to injury.
For the two-time IPL winners, it turned out to be a dual whammy because now Harry Gurney, as well as his replacement Ali Khan, have both been withdrawn from the competition due to injuries. Although the left-arm English fast bowler pulled out of the tournament before it even began.
In IPL 2019, Ali Khan was kept as a stand-by alternative for KKR, but he was not given the opportunity to become a part of their roster. This year he came one step closer, but now he has to wait at least a year and then make his mark in IPL.
A statement read, “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.”
He came into IPL 2020 after a spell with Trinbago Knight Riders, a franchise for the CPL with the same parent company as KKR, after a very good Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season. In all matches at a remarkable economy rate of 7.43, Ali Khan grabbed 8 wickets. The Trinbago Knight Riders won 12 matches in a row and finally registered a historic fourth title of the Caribbean cricket league.