IPL 2022: KKR all-rounder eyes incredible feat in opener; only 4 runs away from joining Russell, Pollard in elite list

If he features in the playing XI for the opening day clash against the Chennai Super Kings, the KKR all-rounder can become the only fifth player in the history of T20s to achieve the incredible feat.

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League is set to begin on March 26 with the blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai side had defeated the KKR in the final of the previous edition to lift its fourth trophy and will start as one of the leading contenders to defend the title.

KKR's Mohammad Nabi (L) with Sunil Narine. (Twitter/KKRiders)

All franchises saw a major change in squad composition, thanks to the mega auction which preceded the tournament in February. The KKR will enter the tournament under a new captain – Shreyas Iyer – who was bought by the franchise for INR 12.25 crore on the first day of the auction in Bengaluru. Other major buys of KKR included Pat Cummins, Sam Billings and Mohammad Nabi among others, in addition to the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy, who were retained by the franchise.

If he is featured in the playing XI for the opening day clash against the Chennai Super Kings, KKR all-rounder Mohammad Nabi can enter an elite list of players if he scores 4 more runs.

Till now, only four all-rounders – Kieron Pollard, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, and Dwayne Bravo have the distinction of scoring 5,000 runs and taking over 300 wickets in T20s. Nabi, who already has 302 wickets to his name in the shortest format, only needs four runs to breach the 5000-mark.

In 329 T20s, the Afghanistan star has scored 4,996 runs at a strike rate of 138.58.

Here are the numbers of players to have achieved the feat so far (All T20s):

• Kieron Pollard (West Indies) - 11,427 runs; 304 wickets
• Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) - 6747 runs; 571 wickets
• Andre Russell (West Indies) - 6574 runs; 354 wickets
• Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) - 5872 runs; 416 wickets

While Russell is also a part of the Knight Riders, Shakib had represented the franchise last year. Kieron Pollard is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians while Dwayne Bravo was bought back by the Chennai Super Kings in the mega auction last month.