The powerhouse opener for Kolkata Knight Riders, Phil Salt, suffered a serious setback when he quit the team to fulfill his England international obligations. The opening player for KKR will compete in the June T20 World Cup. The biannual competition is slated to take place in 2024 following the Indian Premier League, although some of the 15-man English squad have already left their teams to participate in England’s next Twenty20 series against Pakistan.
In a recent announcement, the England Cricket Board (ECB) requested that all of the players who were chosen for the Twenty20 World Cup return in time for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan.
The apex board had previously stated in a statement that “selected players, currently playing in the Indian Premier League, will return in time for the series against Pakistan, which gets underway at Headingley on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.”
The first-year player for KKR went on to play for England, joining players like Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, and Reece Topley who had left early.
After Phil Salt did not sell at the auction, he was brought in as a stand-in for fellow Englishman Jason Roy. The right-hander firmly established himself as the batting leader, showing the two-time past winners that he was worth every penny. As the second-highest scorer for his side, Salt amassed 435 runs from 12 games at an average of 39.54 and an 182 strike rate.
Following his departure from the side, Salt also wrote “#AmiKKR” as the caption for an Instagram image he devoted to the Knight Riders.
Varun Chakaravarthy, a spinner for KKR, left a remark on the page. Hello, salty… I’ll miss you, champ. Best of luck in the next games,” he tweeted.
In a tale posted to his Instagram account, Shreyas Iyer referred to Salt as a “champion.”
KKR will need to find a replacement opener who can match the Englishman’s sting as the English batter will be out of the lineup for the rest of the competition. Salt had been opening with Sunil Narine, and together they had wrecked havoc on every bowling unit in the league. Narine and Salt combined for 12 innings, during which they recorded six partnerships over 50 runs for the Knight Riders.
Even though KKR was the first team to secure a spot in the top 2 after their last game against the Gujarat Titans was rained out, they will undoubtedly miss the English batsman who showed unbelievable brutality by producing several game-winning innings for the club as they prepare for the postseason.
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