Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have brought in Madhya Pradesh mystery spinner Shivam Shukla for the rest of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign. He steps in to replace Rovman Powell, the West Indies batter who didn’t return to India after the tournament resumed on May 17.
A Short Stint for Shivam Shukla
Unfortunately for Shukla, his stint with the team will be a short one. KKR have already been knocked out of the tournament and only have one match left, which will be played against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday, May 25 at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in New Delhi.
The 29-year-old spinner made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He impressed in that tournament with 8 wickets from 8 games and an economical bowling rate of 6.30, including a standout performance of 4/29 against Bengal in Rajkot.
KKR’s IPL 2025 Journey Ends in Disappointment
The defending champions had a rough season this year. KKR started off with a loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and struggled to build momentum. They secured back-to-back wins against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) but a narrow two-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pushed them toward elimination.
The final blow came on Saturday when their match against RCB was abandoned due to rain, officially knocking them out of the playoff race. They became the fourth team to be eliminated, after CSK, RR, and SRH.
One Last Match to Finish on a High
KKR are currently placed sixth on the points table with 12 points and a net run rate of +0.193 after five wins in 13 games. Although the playoffs are out of reach, Ajinkya Rahane’s squad will look to end their campaign on a high by beating SRH in their final outing.
