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The 26-year-old Mumbai batter, Sarfaraz Khan, has made headlines with two half-centuries in both innings of his Test debut against England in the third Test on February 15. Following his striking debut for Team India, speculations have been made over Sarfaraz's IPL future after he went unsold in the IPL 2024 auction. Sources told SportsTiger that the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter will join the two-time IPL winners, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in the IPL 2024.
Sarfaraz has made 50 career appearances in the IPL between 2015 and 2023. After making his IPL debut with RCB in 2015, the prolific first-class batter joined Punjab Kings in 2019 and played three seasons with the 2014 league toppers. In 2022, Sarfaraz joined Delhi Capitals, however, he went down the pecking order and played just four matches the next season.
The partial schedule for the IPL 2024 has been announced on Thursday with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) hosting Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opener on March 22 in Chennai.
In the IPL 2024 auction, Sarafraz, who had a base price of ₹20 lakh, faced disappointment as no team bid for the youngster. With the trade window open till the start of IPL 2024, KKR will be looking to strengthen their middle order, and Sarafraz Khan emerged as the forerunner.
With skipper Shreyas Iyer struggling with injury, Kolkata Knight Riders will book the services of Sarfaraz Khan. Besides strengthening their middle order, mentor Gautam Gambhir's KKR will also look to rope in a wicketkeeper-batter as they have only one Indian wicketkeeper in KS Bharat. However, it is not clear yet which player Sarafraz will replace in the KKR squad for the 17th season of the IPL.