Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 17 (ANI): Star England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt expressed excitement on joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying that he is looking forward to playing in front of “loud and crazy” fans at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Last Sunday, KKR named Salt as Jason Roy’s replacement for the IPL 2024. Roy opted out of the league due to personal reasons.
With star overseas players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Mitchell Starc available, along with a strong Indian core in Nitish Rana, skipper Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakaravarthy, KKR will be aiming to do well in IPL 2024.
The England batter stated it was the first time he had visited at Eden Gardens and said that he is really excited about the IPL 2024.
“I’m really excited. It’s actually the first time I’ve been here (Eden Gardens) and it looks brilliant and I’m sure it’s going to be pretty loud and crazy once the fans fill up on the matchday and I’m really looking forward to it,” Salt said as quoted by KKR website.
The 27-year-old further said that KKR fans have greeted him well, and this provides him the extra motivation to be happy. He said that he will look to deliver fiery starts for his side.
“I hope I provide lots of energy along with quick starts at the top of the order and of course match-winning contributions. As a professional cricketer, you try to shut out the expectations from outside but the reception I’ve got from fans gives me that extra bit of motivation to make them happy,” Salt added.
In 21 T20Is for England, Phil has scored 639 runs at an average of 35.50, with two centuries and two fifties in 20 innings. His best score is 119, and his strike rate is 165.97. The attacking batter has played T20 cricket all over the world in various leagues and remains a popular choice for franchises in the league circuit.
In 228 T20s, he has made 5,308 runs at an average of 25.89 and a strike rate of over 153, with two centuries and 32 fifties. His best score is 119.
The 27-year-old impressed during his first-ever IPL season for Delhi Capitals last year. In nine matches, he scored 218 runs at an average of 27.25 and a strike rate of 163.90. He scored two half-centuries, and his best score was 87.
The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on March 22, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a South Indian derby at their home arena–MA Chidambaram Stadium.
KKR will play their opening game of the IPL 2024 against Pat Cummins-led SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, March 23. The match will start at 7:30 pm.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL 2024 squad: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain. (ANI)
