Pat Cummins joins Kolkata Knight Riders; will be available to play in IPL 2022 from April 6

Pat Cummins has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in India and will link up with the squad after ending his mandatory quarantine. The Australian pace-bowling all-rounder will be available to play for the Kolkata-based team from April 6 onwards.

The quarantine is only for three days, but Cummins will be ineligible to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders before April 6 due to Cricket Australia's No Objection Certificate. CA locked its players until April 5 due to the Australian cricket team's ongoing tour of Pakistan.

Several senior players made themselves unavailable for the white-ball leg of the Pakistan tour. Pat Cummins, who captained Australia to a historic win in the Test series against Pakistan, returned home and caught up with his family before departing for India for IPL 2022.

Cummins was the most expensive player at the IPL 2020 Auction. The Kolkata Knight Riders signed him for a massive ₹15.50 crore and KKR retained him for the same amount in 2021. The Aussie all-rounder scored 229 runs and picked up 21 wickets for KKR across the two seasons.

Kolkata Knight Riders did not retain Pat Cummins for IPL 2022 but re-signed him at the auction

Cummins is one of the top all-rounders in cricket right now

Despite his decent performances in IPL 2020 and 2021, KKR did not retain Cummins ahead of IPL 2022. They released him ahead of the mega auction but bought him back for ₹7.25 crore.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have played two matches in IPL 2022 so far, registering a win and a loss. They will play their third match tonight against the Punjab Kings team.

KKR will play against the Mumbai Indians on April 6. It will be interesting to see if Cummins has a role to play in that match.