IPL 2020: 19-year-old Kashmir pacer to travel with KKR as net bowler

Mujtaba Yousuf, a 19-year-old fast-bowler from South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Thursday left with Kolkata Knight Riders as a net bowler for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). The youngster had last year attended a trial held by KKR for an injured Shivam Mavi’s replacement. Having impressed the franchise’s think-tank with his seam bowling, Yousuf although wasn’t picked in the team, the management took note of him.

With this edition of IPL being held overseas, the teams are picking net bowlers alongside the squad to make sure their practice sessions aren’t hampered. Luckily, Mujtaba also made a cut in the KKR group.

“Yes, Mujtaba has been selected as the net bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders. He will be travelling to Dubai with the team alongside others,” a source close to Mujtaba told CricTracker.

Mujtaba Yousuf picked a 6-fer against Haryana on debut

The left-arm pacer, after a stellar age-group career, was picked in the J&K Ranji Trophy team last season. Making a mark straightaway, the pacer picked a six-wicket-haul on debut against Haryana. He also bowled exceptionally well in his second game against mighty Karnataka, which was held at Jammu. In this quarter-final game, he picked three wickets in the first innings, including that of Manish Pandey.

Nonetheless, with new guidelines to be introduced in the tournament due to coronavirus scare, teams might need to make changes in the middle of the tournament. So, with a group of net bowlers accompanying the teams, they might have to settle for replacements among them. Thus these bowlers will be surely keen to leave an impression.

Meanwhile, Abdul Samad, another J&K prodigy, will also be travelling with Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. The all-rounder, who is known for his hitting abilities, was bought at 20 lakhs in the IPL auction earlier this year. He will be fourth-ever J&K cricketer to feature in IPL after Parvez Rasool, Manzoor Dar, and Rasikh Salam.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Full Squad for IPL 2020: Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (C), Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarti, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik, Pravin Tambe, M Siddharth