KKR vs PBKS: Rahmanullah Gurbaz races ahead of Rashid Khan and Md. Nabi, creates history

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings: Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a unique record in his first match of IPL 2023 on Saturday. The 21-year-old from Afghanistan made his debut in the cash-rich league in a match against Punjab Kings in Mohali. With this, Gurbaaz became the first Afghan national to keep wickets in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were the first players from Afghanistan to feature in the IPL. However, both players happen to be conventional spinners who also contribute with the bat lower down the order.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman became the third Afghanistan player to be sold in the IPL and he too is a spinner. However, Gurbaz broke created a historic record of his own by becoming the first Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman to play in the IPL. He is part of the KKR's playing XI for their opening match against Punjab Kings on April 1, 2023, Gurbaz made his international debut in 2019 in a match against Zimbabwe. Since then, he has played 12 ODIs and 32 T20Is for his country. 

Gurbaz was part of the Gujarat Titans squad in IPL 2022. However, he did not play even a single game for the franchise in their season-winning campaign. Gurbaz was traded to Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2023 auction. 

Also Read: KKR Vs PBKS IPL 2023 Match 2 LIVE SCORE

KKR vs PBKS: Playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana (captain), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.

KKR's Impact players list: Vaibhav Arora, Venkatesh Iyer, David Wiese, Suyash Sharma, Narayan Jagadeeshan

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

PBKS' Impact players list: Matthew Short, Mohit Rathee, Harpreet Singh, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan

Also Read: KKR Vs PBKS IPL 2023 Match: Confirmed Playing XI, Impact Players, Last-minute Dream11 Tips

KKR vs PBKS: Full squads

Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(wk), Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, N Jagadeesan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Umesh Yadav, David Wiese, Mandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Kulwant Khejroliya, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh(wk), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Raj Bawa, Nathan Ellis, Baltej Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Atharva Taide, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh.

Image: BCCI