3 Players who can replace Nitish Rana at KKR if he gets banned

India’s upcoming left-handed batsman, Nitish Rana has been under the scanner for age fudging. Recently, the DDCA slammed a one-year suspension to India’s U19 World Cup hero, Manjot Kalra for the age fraud. Along with Manjot, the fans also got major updates in the cases of Shivam Mavi and Nitish Rana.

While Mavi’s case has been transferred to BCCI, Rana will have to validate his documents before getting a clean chit from the association. In case he fails to prove his documents, the Kolkata Knight Riders player would receive a suspension and may even have to miss the 2020 edition of IPL.

So, here are the 3 players who can replace Nitish Rana if he gets banned.

1. Yusuf Pathan

Kolkata Knight Riders’ former all-rounder, Yusuf Pathan went unsold in the IPL 2020 Auction, however, given the experience that he possesses the Baroda all-rounder can return as a replacement player. Since he has a similar talent as Nitish Rana, he could be a viable alternative option.

Talking about Yusuf’s IPL career, the 37-year-old has played 174 IPL games for various franchises since 2008. He has batted in 154 innings where he has aggregated 3,204 runs at an average of 29.13 and with a strike rate of 142. 97. He has also scored a century in the league.

In the bowling department, the former IPL winner has taken 42 wickets in 82 innings. His best figures are 3/20 while his economy rate is 7.40. The 2011 World Cup winner has played a lot of matches at the Eden Gardens thus, he will be the leading candidate to replace Rana in the squad.

2. Hanuma Vihari

Kolkata Knight Riders have one of the most explosive batting line-ups in the Indian Premier League. Right from Sunil Narine to Andre Russell, their squad features a lot of power hitters. Hence, the squad needs a batsman who can stabilize the innings if they lose a few wickets early.

Hanuma Vihari is the best option available for this role as he had played this role for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past. The right-handed batsman had failed as a finisher for Delhi Capitals in the previous edition of IPL while in this year’s auction, he went unsold.

KKR can pull off a smart move by signing Vihari as a replacement for Nitish Rana and then using him in their middle order. The 26-year-old has taken giant strides in Test cricket of late and a good season with the two-time IPL winners can help Vihari in breaking into the limited-overs squad.

3. Shahrukh Khan

Ahead of the IPL 2020 Auction, a plethora of fans expected the IPL franchises to bid for Tamil Nadu’s batsman Shahrukh Khan in the auction, however, the same did not happen. None of the franchises raised their peddle for Khan as he went unsold at the event.

Twitterverse even trolled Kolkata Knight Riders for not buying the player whose name is the same as their owner. The Purple and Gold Army can respond to the trolls by signing Shahrukh as a replacement for Nitish Rana.

Speaking of Khan’s numbers in T20 cricket, the 24-year-old has a strike rate of 112.02 in 23 T20s. He has struck 16 fours and 9 sixes which highlight his talent besides, he can bowl a few overs of right-arm off-break in the middle. Thus, he can be the wildcard pick for replacing Rana in IPL 2020.