3 reasons why Phil Salt's absence is a massive blow for KKR in IPL 2024

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) received a massive jolt ahead of the IPL 2024 playoffs as wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt left the camp in Kolkata. The English cricketer will join the England contingent for the T20I series against Pakistan and the subsequent 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, starting June 1.

Salt, who represented the Delhi Capitals (DC) last year, went unsold at the auction. It came as a blessing in disguise for the Knight Riders, who signed the English cricketer for ₹1.5 crore as a replacement for Jason Roy, who pulled out of the tournament citing personal reasons.

The right-handed batter was an immediate hit at Eden Gardens, impressing everyone in the practice games. He replicated the form in the tournament as well, forming one of KKR's best opening partnerships along with Sunil Narine. Their impact at the top order can be evidenced by Kolkata's top position in the IPL 2024 points table.

With a playoff berth confirmed, KKR will certainly miss Salt's services in the knockout stage. On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why Phil Salt's absence is a massive blow for KKR.

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#1 Phil Salt was in blazing hot form

The wicketkeeper-batter breathed fresh air into KKR and came as a solution for their long-term problem. The Knight Riders have lacked a good opener since the departure of their former skipper Gautam Gambhir. The lack of good opening batters plagued their campaign for several seasons.

In Salt, Kolkata found a reliable batter who can accumulate runs quickly and also bat maturely if needed. His tally of 435 runs in 12 matches at an average of almost 40 and a strike rate of 182.01 is a testament to it.

With the IPL 2024 playoffs approaching, KKR will miss Phil Salt's form more than anything. To find someone who can replicate the same impact in the last few games would be a challenging task for the franchise.

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#2 No able replacement in the KKR camp

While it is true that there is no dearth of talent in the IPL, finding replacements for in-form players is not an easy task. The likes of Chandrakant Pandit and Gautam Gambhir will have to work overtime to find a like-for-like replacement and yet not hamper the balance of the side.

The Knight Riders have Rahmanullah Gurbaz and KS Bharat as replacements but both are yet to be tested in the IPL despite their international credentials. Gurbaz, who hails from Afghanistan, played 11 games last year and scored only 227 runs at an average of 20.64. Bharat, on the other hand, boasts only 10 IPL matches in his CV, aggregating 199 runs at a strike rate of 122.09.

Finding someone with the same impact as Phil Salt had during his stay in India will be a difficult task for the KKR management. For the unversed, the English cricketer averaged 43.8 and struck at a rate of 186.2 during Kolkata's victory, which will be difficult to match for a player who has warmed the benches so far this season.

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#3 They lose a settled opening pair

With Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, KKR found an opening pair that could take the attack to the opposition in the first six overs. They struck at a rate of 11.09 in the powerplay, which is the second-best in the league after the SunRisers Hyderabad's 11.60.

Also with Salt and Narine, the Knight Riders had almost all bases covered. While Salt can dispatch short deliveries, Narine can dislodge anything that was pitched up. It had the opposition teams tinker with their plans and often surrendered in front of KKR's opening pair.

With Salt missing the remainder of the campaign, bowlers will come up with short deliveries against Narine, who struggled against those balls. Gurbaz, who is likely to slot in place of the departing cricketer, also struggles against bouncers. The opposition teams could exploit this area and reap rewards in the coming games.