Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have added Phil Salt to their squad as a replacement for Jason Roy, who withdrew from IPL 2024 citing "personal reasons". Salt, who went unsold in the auction, will make a comeback to the IPL, representing KKR for the upcoming season. Salt was acquired for his reserve auction price of Rs 1.5 crore by the two-time champions.
KKR have made a swift adjustment to their squad for IPL 2024, bringing in English batter Phil Salt as a replacement for Jason Roy. Roy, citing personal reasons, opted out of the tournament, opening the door for Salt's inclusion. The England star, whose most recent T20I performances showcased his explosive batting prowess, emerged as a compelling option for KKR.
Phil Salt Brings In Rich T20 Experince Into Picture
His Caribbean exploits in December 2023 saw him amass 331 runs at a staggering strike rate of 185.95, making him the leading run-scorer with notable scores, including two centuries. The 48-ball century in the fourth T20I in the West Indies stands as England's joint-fastest in the format, highlighting Salt's capability to deliver impactful performances. With a stellar T20 record of 5308 runs from 221 innings, a remarkable strike rate of 153.41, and a commendable average of 25.89, Salt brings a wealth of experience from various T20 leagues worldwide.
On the flip side, Jason Roy, despite his reputation as a short-format specialist, withdrew from IPL 2024. Roy, who had been acquired by KKR at the December 2023 auction for INR 2.8 crore, has had intermittent IPL appearances, previously representing Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), and Sunrisers Hyderabad. This is not the first instance of Roy opting out of the IPL, having done so in 2020 for personal reasons (Capitals) and in 2022 (Gujarat Titans) when he took an "indefinite break" from the game.
KKR Squad For IPL 2024
Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer (Captain) 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 Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain