5 best signings by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL history

5. Yusuf Pathan

Some players will always remain the good books of the league and Yusuf Pathan is one of them. He is an impact player who can turn around the game in matter of overs. That’s why the Purple team spent a fortune of 9.6 crores on him in the 2011 IPL auction. His inclusion in the squad paid rich dividends as he became part of one of the most successful teams in the league history.

The Baroda cricketer has played 174 IPL ties in which he has scored more than 3200 runs. As far as his KKR journey is considered he has played 96 games over a span of 7 seasons. His explosive batting was one of the reasons why the team enjoyed a dream run in 2014. In that season Pathan stroked a 15 ball half-century against the Hyderabad team and it allowed the side to finish second in the points table. As a result, they went on to win the title and that knock certainly made a big difference.

Pathan has the knack of playing important cameos down the order. He gathered around 1800 runs while mostly batting at No.6 position for the Knight Riders. Whenever Yusuf was on strike the bowlers thought differently and it worked in favor of the KKR team in many tricky run-chases. Nobody can forget his contributions to the IPL and particularly the Kolkata team as their glory days coincided with his presence in their dugout.