This will be the first time in the history of IPL that an American cricketer will be taking part. Kolkata Knight Riders signed Ali Khan a 29-year-old American fast bowler. He will be replacing Harry Gurney who pulled out due to a shoulder injury. Ali Khan played for the Trinbago Knight riders who won the 2020 edition of the CPL and remained unbeaten throughout. He picked up 8 wickets in the tournament from 8 matches with an economy rate of 7.43. KKR wanted khan last season as well but things did not quite work out.
The 2018 global T20 Canada rose Khan to fame where he caught the attention of all-rounder Dwayne Bravo who later brought him to the CPL. That year, Khan picked up 16 wickets from 12 matches for Guyana Amazon Warriors, the second-most by a fast bowler in the season. Bravo, in one of his Instagram stories, posted a video with Khan, Brendon McCullum and a few more inside a plan with the caption “Next stop Dubai.” On his CPL debut, Khan dismissed Kumar Sangakkara with his first delivery. Back in December 2019, in an interview, Ali, who had registered for the IPL auction, had said getting picked in the IPL would be like a ‘dream come true’.
