IPL 2019: Kolkata Knight Riders add Sandeep Warrier to their squad

Sandeep Warrier has been handed an Indian Premier League contract by Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2019 season after a string of good performances in the domestic circuit.

The 28 year old pacer hails from Kerala and is not new to the league, he has previously been associated with the Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2013 to 2015 but didn't get to play a single game.

He had an impressive season in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy where he was the leading wicket-taker for the Kerala side with 12 wickets to his name. He picked up 44 wickets in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy for Kerela and helped the team reach their first ever semi-final in the tournament's history.

His good form continued in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy too, where he registered a hat-trick against Andhra to take his side to victory. He has been the lead pacer for Kerala alongside his teammate Basil Thampi who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sandeep Warrier during his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) days.

He has so far has taken 41 wickets in 40 T20 matches at an average of 24.75 and strike rate of 20.9. He has been very economical as his economy rate is 7.09, which is great for a fast bowler these days.

Kolkata Knight Riders already had a good amount of fast bowlers in Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Andrich Nortje, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Ngarkoti, and Prithviraj Yarra.

This new addition will surely bolster the inexperienced Knight Riders pace attack and will provide an extra option to the management. Sandeep Warrier might feature in the playing eleven for KKR as he has been in great form and also because KKR lacked a good Indian pacer last season.