Phil Salt or Rahmanullah Gurbaz - who should be KKR's first-choice wicket-keeper for IPL 2024?

The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just 10 days away. The reverse countdown to IPL 2024 has started. Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders received a major blow yesterday, as their explosive opener Jason Roy pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons.

To replace Roy, Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in another English player. He is a wicketkeeper-batter, Phil Salt.

In case you didn't know, Salt played for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023. Playing in his debut season, the wicketkeeper-batter aggregated 218 runs in nine matches. He was in fantastic form during the IPL 2024 auction. Still, none of the teams bid for him.

Kolkata Knight Riders have signed him as a replacement now, but it has put the franchise in a dilemma. KKR have two overseas wicketkeepers, who can open the batting in their squad now. They already had Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and now, Phil Salt has joined the team.

It is unlikely that the Kolkata Knight Riders will play both Phil Salt and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in IPL 2024 because of the overseas player limit. KKR will have to choose one of the two wicketkeepers, and here's an analysis of which overseas star has the upper hand in this race.

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Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Phil Salt - Who has the better numbers in IPL?

Both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Phil Salt received their maiden IPL caps last year. While Gurbaz made his debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Salt turned up for the Delhi Capitals.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz played 11 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 227 runs at an average of 20.64. His highest score was 81, while he got out for a duck twice. Also, his strike rate was in the range of 135.

On the other side, Phil Salt amassed 218 runs at an average of 27.25 in nine matches for the Delhi Capitals. His best score was 87, and his strike rate was 163.91.

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Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Phil Salt - Who is in better form ahead of IPL 2024?

Looking at the last five T20 innings of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Afghanistan batter has returned with scores of 70, 13, 13, 15 & 0. On the other side, Phil Salt's last five scores in T20 cricket are 30, 26, 7, 5 & 0.

Both batters have been in poor touch, but Gurbaz smashed a half-century in his previous T20I knock against Sri Lanka. On top of that, Gurbaz has more experience of playing at Eden Gardens than Phil Salt.

Although Phil Salt's IPL career numbers are better than Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Kolkata Knight Riders should pick the latter in their playing XI for the first few matches. If Gurbaz fails to get going, the Knight Riders team management can think of replacing him with Salt.

KKR will start their IPL 2024 campaign against Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23 at Eden Gardens. Expect Gurbaz to feature in the home team's playing XI.