BREAKING: Bengal’s Sudip Gharami on KKR radar as Shreyas Iyer replacement in IPL 2023

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are eyeing Bengal batter Sudip Kumar Gharami as a replacement for the injured Shreyas Iyer, Sportskeeda has reliably learnt. The Knights have been left shortchanged after their incumbent skipper was on Tuesday confirmed to miss the entire IPL 2023.

Gharami, who had a stellar domestic season, was called for trials today during KKR’s training session ahead of their marquee clash against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday.

The 24-year-old faced Andre Russell and the KKR net bowlers for close to 20 minutes. All-rounder David Wiese, who also shared that net, took turns with the rising Bengal star.

After the RCB clash, the Knight Riders will fly to Ahmedabad on April 9 to take on the Gujarat Titans (GT). Perennially criticized for overlooking local talent, KKR are likely to again summon Gharami once they are back in their den.

Sportskeeda understands that KKR will come to a decision around the 13th of this month, before their home game against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 14.

Sudip Gharami’s first day with KKR coincided with the Kolkata-based franchise signing England opening batter Jason Roy for ₹2.8 crore. While Shreyas Iyer is set to go under the knife to treat his lower back, veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan recently pulled out of the season due to availability issues.

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How did Sudip Gharami perform in the latest season of domestic cricket?

Since making his Bengal debut in the 2019/20 Ranji Trophy final, Sudip Gharami has impressed everyone with his sound technique coupled with a truckload of runs.

Batting at No. 3, Gharami finished the latest Ranji season as the sixth highest run-getter – 803 runs at an average of 50.18, with three centuries and five fifties to boot. He also topped Bengal’s batting charts in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, amassing 371 runs at an average and strike-rate of 74.20 and 99.46 respectively. He was also part of the Rest of India squad that won the 2022/23 Irani Cup.

Gharami's T20 numbers, though, pale in comparison. He scored just 124 runs at 115.88 in the season-opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, his 27 off 14 balls against Tamil Nadu stood out, where he took on a star-studded line-up comprising T Natarajan, Varun Chakaravarthy and R Sai Kishore, among others.

Gharami has carried his breathtaking form into Maidan cricket. In the recent matches of the CAB Super League first division, he racked up scores of 276 and 167 for Kalighat Club.