Ali Khan set to become first American to play in IPL, replaces Harry Gurney at KKR

USA pace bowler Ali Khan has been roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for left-arm fast bowler Harry Gurney. A shoulder injury left Gurney with no other option but to withdraw his name from the tournament. He is scheduled to undergo surgery next month, thereby keeping him out of contention for the IPL 2020.

As a result, Ali Khan became the first USA player to be picked in an IPL team's squad, according to a ESPNCricinfo report. The fast bowler's association with the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders is not very new, as he also is a part of the Trinbago Knight Riders unit that won the CPL 2020.

Ali Khan made an impact in the CPL 2020 by scalping 8 wickets in the season. He has a knack of picking up wickets during the powerplay and is known to control the flow of runs in the runs too later in the innings. Ali Khan was a part of the franchise's side last year as well as he was a backup player for the KKR squad for the IPL 2019. 

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The 29-year-old Ali Khan has played franchise-based cricket all over the world in prominent leagues such as Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League and Global T20 League Canada. His performance in the Canadian league impressed Dwayne Bravo, who later recommended his name to the Trinbago Knight Riders. 

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KKR squad for IPL 2020: Schedule 

As the Dream11 IPL 2020 draws nearer, the Kolkata Knight Riders schedule for the IPL 2020 season has been officially announced by the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council. According to the Kolkata Knight Riders schedule, Mumbai Indians will be their first opponents on September 23. It will be interesting to see if Ali Khan gets a place in the team, as Pat Cummins is expected to be able for the first match of the IPL. KKR could also shuffle between Cummins, Khan and New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson amongst the pacers while playing Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell as the other 3 overseas players. Chris Green and Tom Banton are also potential overseas backups KKR have.

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KKR squad for IPL 2020

Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarti, Rahul Tripathi, Nikhil Naik, M Siddharth, Ali Khan, Chris Green, Tom Banton.

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Image Source: Ali Khan Instagram