Kolkata Knight Riders have named left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya as a replacement for speedster Umran Malik ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
The unexpected 10-day break has left both the RCB and the KKR with different goals to achieve and common challenges to hurdle over.
West Indies fast bowler Obed McCoy took four wickets after Andre Russell's maiden half-century as the Twenty20 world champions produced a superb comeback to outclass Australia by 18 runs in the first game of their five-match series.
The IPL 2026 auction is gearing up for a blockbuster showdown, with 350 players fighting for just 77 spots including 31 overseas berths in what promises to be one of the most competitive bidding wars yet.
Kolkata Knight Riders swashbuckling batter Rinku Singh feels the Indian Premier League has now reached a stage where a team breaching the magical 300-run barrier in an innings won't be a surprise.
Russell said even though players were now somewhat used to staying in bubbles on tours, it was still challenging to experience it each time.
Rinku made a valuable 19 runs in six balls, that powered KKR to post 200+, he saved certain boundaries while fielding, which eventually won KKR the match.
With new rivalries, fresh team colours, and familiar faces reunited, this isn't just the start of a new season-it's a blockbuster waiting to unfold.
Rajasthan Royals spinner Krishnappa Gowtham said they have plans in place to counter the hard-hitting West Indian batsman.
Andre Russell and Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets each to power Kolkata Knight Riders to an emphatic nine-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL match in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Rohit Sharma's poor run in IPL 2025 has become a major talking point among fans and experts.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya praised the team's scouting team for discovering left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar, who starred in the team's eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Kumar took four wickets on debut, becoming the first Indian to achieve this feat in the IPL, and played a crucial role in restricting KKR to 116 runs.
Russell was on three off five balls when he was bowled by Mohammed Shami with an inch-perfect yorker on off-stump but it was declared a no ball because the side had three fielders, instead of the mandatory four, inside the circle in the 17th over.
Images from the IPL 2022 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings at Mumbai
Was Avesh Khan's catch the best of the night?
Jos Buttler is still the front-runner to be this IPL's MVP. He still has at least two matches to play and one big knock will win it for him. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players after the end of the 70 league matches in IPL 2022.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was given the all-clear to use his black bat in Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash League on Tuesday after it was initially banned for leaving marks on the ball.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday
Andre Russell's spectacular all-round performance powered defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing four-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, in Pune, on Saturday.
Reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders will hope that their strife-ridden batting unit will tighten its act against in-form table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Kolkata on Monday.
Andre Russell played a whirlwind unbeaten knock of 49-runs to script his side's dramatic win after Nitish Rana scored 68 at top of the batting order.
He also highlighted the team's focus on playing good cricket and improving in areas like fielding.
For KKR, IPL 2025 is slipping away rapidly. They need more than just a few tactical tweaks - they need clarity of leadership and bold but sensible changes in their playing XI.
The 30-year-old Jamaican all-rounder, who has now hit a remarkable 207 runs off 77 balls with 22 sixes in four matches, came out to bat with his side needing 68 runs from 26 balls and proceeded to flay the bowling around the Chinnaswamy.
Russell, a two-time Twenty20 World Cup winner, was revealed to have committed the violation a year ago after registering three filing failures in 2015. That constituted a failed drugs test under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.
His four-wicket haul guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-run win over Kings XI Punjab and West Indies all-rounder Andre Russel said they bowled like champions in their Indian Premier League match in Kolkata.
Narine stars as KKR keep playoff hopes alive with 14-run win over DC
Although India's Rohit Sharma was adjudged Man of the Series in the recently-concluded West Indies-India ODI series, Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji conclude that based on the most valuable player index (MVPI) indicate that West Indian Andre Russell would have been a better choice.
Among other developments from the RCB camp, West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd and England's Liam Livingstone have returned to India and rejoined the squad on Wednesday.
Having got off to a start so typical of themselves in the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians will hope for a quick turnaround when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on Monday.
With KKR failing to capitalise on home advantage, the pressure is already mounting on Rahane and his squad to bounce back in their next encounter.
For KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday.
Mohit displayed immense game awareness, taking a single to bring Ashutosh on strike, bringing down the equation to five runs in four balls.
South Africa's young batting sensation became the most expensive batter in the history of SA20
Chris Gayle and Andre Russell are both expected to be fit for the showdown with Australia after nursing injuries in West Indies victory over Pakistan. Gayle scored a trademark fifty off just 33 balls as the Windies secured a seven-wicket win in their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup opener at Trent Bridge.
Kolkata Knight Riders outclassed Mumbai Indians by 24 runs in the IPL 2024 match on Friday.
All-rounder Andre Russell hit a whirlwind 13-ball 42 not out, including three sixes from a Sohail Khan over, before taking three wickets with the ball to help West Indies demolish Pakistan by a huge margin of 150 runs.
It was the biggest knock of his young international career but far from celebrating, West Indies pacer Andre Russell was a disappointed man as his hurricane 92 failed to fetch his side a win in the third one-dayer against India in Antigua.
A batsman of Russell's calibre may just prove to be the difference between the two sides.
Images from Friday's IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Kolkata.
