IPL 2018: Kamlesh Nagarkoti ruled out of the tournament; replacement announced

The injury list of the fast bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is ever increasing with Kamlesh Nagarkoti also ruled out now. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has copped yet another blow after Mitchell Starc was injured earlier due to tibial bone stress. Kamlesh sustained a foot injury in the lead up to the tournament and the team management had kept him under keen observation before he was ruled out. However, his replacement has been announced by the franchise right away ahead of their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday.

Even Mitchell Johnson had to sit out of the last match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) due to a niggle. The problems are compounded now for them with the veteran Vinay Kumar also struggling to pitch the ball in the right areas. They have a trimmed squad of 19 players to pick from this year as they did some smart buys in the auction.

Who is the replacement?

Prasidh Krishna, the fast bowler from Karnataka, has been named as the replacement for the 18-year-old. He made his debut for his state in 2015. According to the reports in Cricbuzz, KKR was wary of an injury to Nagarkoti ahead of the tournament itself and they had kept Prasidh as the backup option while also blooding him in the two practice matches as well where he fared decently.

Prasidh is not an outright fast bowler like Nagarkoti but he is tall and his ability to hit the deck hard makes him a promising bowler. The 22-year-old has played 19 List A games for his State and has scalped 33 wickets while he also made his debut in the shortest format this year during Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. It will be interesting to see if KKR will blood him in the playing XI right away on Sunday as he has been with the side for a decent period of time.

[interaction id=”5ad09ff44a23f810239d41d5″]

Here’s our video of the day:

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates