IPL 2025: Chetan Sakariya signed as replacement for Umran Malik at KKR

Chetan Sakariya has been roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders as Umran Malik's replacement ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. An unspecified injury has ruled Umran out of the season. The Jammu & Kashmir pacer was bought by the defending champions for INR 75 lakh.

Interestingly, Sakariya was a part of the KKR unit during their title-winning campaign last year. However, he did not feature in any of the side's fixtures throughout the season. He was understandably not part of the franchise's plans after the season, as he was released ahead of the mega auction which was held in November 2024. Coming in for INR 75 lakh as well, Sakariya would most probably be taking this as a golden opportunity to further his prospects in the league. 

The 27-year-old left-arm seamer has played 19 games in the marquee T20 league from 2021 to 2023. 14 out of the 19 fixtures were played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021. Subsequently, Sakariya featured in only five matches for Delhi Capitals, scalping three wickets apiece.  

IPL 2025 is scheduled to commence on Saturday, March 22. The tournament opener will see KKR taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Speaking of Sakariya's 20-over career, he has secured 65 wickets in 46 matches at a decent economy rate of 7.69. He made his white-ball debut for India in July 2021, but has not donned the national jersey since then.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Team-wise stats and records at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Speaking about Umran, it has been a rather unfortunate past one year for him. After having a breakthrough IPL 2022, the right-arm speedster could only play eight and one game in the subsequent couple of seasons. While he was dropped from the side on the back of a string of poor performances in 2023, the tearaway quick was ruled out of the 2024 edition due to an injury.