Who is Shivam Shukla? 5 interesting facts about KKR's replacement player for IPL 2025

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have roped in uncapped mystery spinner Shivam Shukla as a replacement for Rovman Powell. KKR have already been eliminated from the race to the playoffs. It seems like the team management has already started planning for the IPL 2026 season.

The Knight Riders may try out Shivam Shukla in their only remaining game against the SunRisers Hyderabad. If Shukla impresses, the franchise can probably target him for the next season.

Before Shukla plays his first-ever IPL match, here's a quick look at five interesting things to know about the newest signing by the Kolkata Knight Riders team.

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#1 Shivam Shukla hails from Panna, Madhya Pradesh

Shukla was born in Panna city of Madhya Pradesh. He plays domestic cricket for his home state. Not much is known about his upbringing, but Shukla's social media profile shows that he has always been passionate about gymming.

Shukla has shared multiple photos of himself flexing his muscles in front of the mirror. The uncapped player has only 1,250 followers right now, but the count should go up in the coming days.

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#2 Shivam Shukla has played only 8 T20 matches

Shukla does not have much experience of playing domestic cricket. The rising star has represented Madhya Pradesh in eight T20 games. He is yet to play a single game in first-class cricket or List-A format.

Shedding some light on his numbers in the T20 arena, Shivam has scalped eight wickets in as many matches. He has an impressive economy rate of 6.30 runs per over, with his best figures being 4/29.

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#3 Shivam Shukla made his T20 debut under Rajat Patidar's captaincy

Current Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar is also the skipper of the Madhya Pradesh team in domestic cricket. In fact, Patidar was the captain of the Madhya Pradesh side when Shukla made his T20 debut.

It was in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Mizoram hosted by Rajkot on November 23, 2024. Shukla bowled a tight spell of 1/18 in four overs to help MP win the match.

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#4 Shivam Shukla worked as a net bowler for SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025

Just a few weeks ago, Shukla had been working hard in the nets of the SunRisers Hyderabad team. The mystery spinner helped SRH batters with their practice sessions ahead of IPL matches.

Although SRH needed some replacements themselves, they did not sign Shukla. Instead, the Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to secure the mystery spinner's services before their clash against SRH.

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#5 Shivam was the highest wicket-taker in Madhya Pradesh League 2024

Almost every state association in India has its own T20 league now. Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) also launched its own T20 league, and in the first edition (2024) of the tournament, Shivam finished as the leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets in just four games.

Shukla turned up for the Rewa Jaguars team, where he troubled the opposition batters with his mystery spin. It will be interesting to see if the tweaker can do the same in the IPL now.