Fast bowler Umran Malik has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. However, he didn’t join as a player and rather, joined them as a part of his rehabilitation. KKR confirmed Umran’s joining through a statement on their social media platforms.
“Umran Malik has joined the squad in Kolkata to continue his rehab and ‘return to cricket’ programme with KKR for the remainder of the season,” KKR wrote in a statement.
“He’s not joining as an official playing member of the squad, but will work with the team and support staff to get back to his best! Welcome to the family, Umran,” KKR added.
After Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) released him following the 2024 edition, Malik had joined the three-time champion for Rs 75 lakhs in the mega auction that took place in Jeddah last year.
However, an injury ruled him out of the tournament. The Knight Riders roped in left-arm fast bowler Chetan Sakariya as his replacement.
Umran Malik losing his way
After making his IPL debut back in 2021 for SRH, Umran had a tremendous campaign in 2022 where he picked up 22 wickets from 14 games at an economy of 9.03 with a five-wicket haul to his name.
But the speedster struggled in the 2023 and 2024 seasons after which the Orange Army let him go.
Umran has also played eight T20Is and 10 ODIs for India, taking 24 wickets. He also clocked around 155 kmph on a consistent basis, making him one of the fastest bowlers in the world.
As far as the Knight Riders are concerned, they are placed seventh in the table with six points and a net run rate of +0.212. Their next match is against the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 26 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
 squad as a part of his rehabilitation. Earlier, the speedster was ruled out due to injury after which Chetan Sakariya was roped in as his replacement.){kind=link}