3 reasons why KKR signing Chetan Sakariya as Umran Malik's replacement for IPL 2025 is the wrong move

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya as Umran Malik's replacement for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Umran was ruled out due to an injury and will miss the entire season. He was signed by KKR at the mega auction for ₹75 lakh.

Chetan Sakariya replaces him in the squad for the same price. Interestingly, Sakariya was called in as a net bowler by Kolkata just recently and is now a part of their main squad.

The left-arm pacer has played 19 IPL games in his career so far, picking up 20 wickets at an average of 29.95 and an economy rate of 8.43. He has played for the Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Capitals in the past.

While the 27-year-old might seem a good replacement for Umran Malik, here are three reasons why this may not be the case and is a wrong move by KKR.

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#3 Chetan Sakariya is not a like-for-like Indian replacement of Anrich Nortje

KKR signed South Africa speedster Anrich Nortje at the mega auction ahead of the IPL 2025 season for ₹6.50 crore. They also signed Umran Malik, who could have been an ideal replacement for Nortje, who also bowls quick and generates solid pace and bounce.

On the other hand, Chetan Sakariya does not bowl at a similar pace like Nortje or Umran. He is also a left-arm pacer and does not have similar skill sets as Nortje, making him a not-so-ideal option.

With Nortje himself being injury-prone, KKR may need a like-for-like option on their bench should he fail to maintain his fitness throughout the season. In such a scenario, Sakariya may not be the perfect fit.

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#2 Sakariya last played competitive cricket in 2024

Chetan Sakariya, who suffered a wrist injury, has been away from action for quite a while now. He last played competitive cricket in February 2024 in the Ranji Trophy for Saurashtra.

He is coming back from an injury and may not be the best bet to replace a pacer for a highly intense league right away. The lack of having played competitive cricket for a while now means that he does not have enough match practice.

While the left-arm pacer was a part of KKR in the 2024 season, he did not play a single game and spent the entire season on the bench.

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#1 He could be a risky replacement with a thin bench

Looking at KKR's squad for the 2025 season, they have Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora as their key Indian pacers along with Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson as the overseas options.

Harshit, Vaibhav, and Nortje are likely to start as the three frontline pacers in their XI when the season begins. With Umran Malik ruled out and only Spencer Johnson as the other option, KKR's bench looks thin when it comes to their pace attack.

With Chetan Sakariya not having played competitive cricket for a while, he could be a risky replacement with such a thin bench. Apart from the 2021 season where he bagged 14 wickets and played all 14 games for Rajasthan, Sakariya has not been a regular starter, playing only five games in 2022 and 2023 combined (for the Delhi Capitals).