Ali Khan, who would have become the first player from the USA to have featured in the IPL, will not be part of the tournament after suffering an injury.
Ali Khan was about to create history when he was signed for Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for the injured England bowler Harry Gurney in IPL 2020. Ali Khan, who impressed everyone during his Caribbean Premier League 2020 stint with Trinbago Knight Riders, would have become the first player from the USA to have featured in an IPL clash. However, those dreams have now been shattered as Ali Khan of the USA has been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
In the IPL statement, it mentioned, “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 since been injured and will miss the rest of the Dream11 IPL 2020 season.” No replacement has been announced by the Kolkata Knight Riders side.
This comes as a massive blow for Kolkata Knight Riders and for the bowler, who had high dreams of playing a game in the IPL for the two-time IPL champions.
Announcement during CPL
Ali Khan was having a team dinner ahead of Trinbago Knight Riders’ clash against Jamaica Tallawahs in the final of the CPL 2020. He was seated beside Brendon McCullum, the coach of the Trinbago Knight Riders. Suddenly, McCullum stood up and made an announcement. The former New Zealand skipper said, “I would like to inform all of you that one man from the United States is going to play in IPL 2020 for Kolkata Knight Riders. I have taken this occasion to inform you all that Ali Khan will be joining the side.”
The rush of emotions when McCullum made that announcement saw Ali Khan overcome with emotions. He started crying and he was given a big hug by Dwayne Bravo. Now, Ali Khan has revealed the emotions that seeped in after the announcement. “I was seated next to Brendon. After he made that announcement, I was thinking ‘Is it for real?’ It was like my dream had come true. I had often dreamt about playing in the IPL and when that came true, it was a truly memorable feeling. After the dinner, Brendon came up to me and said I deserved it. I responded by saying I will not let him down.”
Ali Khan was part of the Trinbago Knight Riders’ squad which remained unbeaten en route to their CPL title win. In the tournament, Khan picked up eight wickets from eight matches with an economy rate of 7.43. Ali Khan rose to prominence during the 2018 Global T20 Canada, where he caught the attention of Dwayne Bravo. In 2018, playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Ali Khan picked up 16 wickets from 12 matches, the second-most by a fast bowler in the season.
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