IPL 2024:Top 3 Potential Replacements for Phil Salt as Opener in KKR's Playing XI for IPL 2024

Star England batter Phil Salt left the KKR camp to fulfil his national responsibilities for England. He was in action in the ongoing IPL 2024 with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing IPL 2024. He was in amazing form and played a crucial role in KKR’s win in most of the matches in the tournament so far.

But the absence of the in-form opener might create a big void in the top-order as he was in sensational form, scoring 435 runs in 12 innings, with 1 not-out, having a very good average of 39.54 and an amazing strike rate of 182.00, hitting a century and 3 half-centuries.

Having said that, here we’ll have a look at the three potential replacements for Phil Salt in the KKR playing XI in the upcoming matches, including the playoff stage of the tournament.

Here’s a look at 3 players who can replace Phil Salt as an opener in KKR playing XI:

Venkatesh Iyer

The star top-order batter for KKR in the ongoing IPL 2024, Venkatesh Iyer has been one of the most consistent performers with the bat for the two-time IPL champions. He is currently the fourth-leading run-scorer for KKR in the current season of the tournament with some brilliant outings on his credit.

Iyer has scored 267 runs in 11 innings in the 12 matches he has played so far, with 3 not-outs, having an average of 33.37, hitting 2 half-centuries and a couple of short but quick knocks. So, Iyer could be a good fit to replace Phil Salt as an opener for KKR in the remaining assignments in IPL 2024.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz

The star Afghanistan batter is in the KKR squad but hasn’t gotten a chance to feature in the playing XI of the team in the ongoing IPL 2024 so far. However, he had quite a bit of good outings when he batted for KKR during the last season in 2023.

Gurbaz also played a couple of good knocks while opening the innings for KKR last season, including 2 half-centuries to score 227 runs in 11 matches while hitting 17 fours and 15 sixes.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi

The young Indian uncapped batter has batted in 7 innings of the 10 matches he has played so far for KKR in the ongoing IPL 2024.  He showed an amazing intent in his initial appearances as an impact player for his side.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi has scored 163 runs in 7 innings with a strike rate of 155.23, hitting one half-century. Considering his amazing hitting abilities, the KKR management might count on the 18-year-old as well to include him in the playing XI as an opener with the star in-form opener Sunil Narine.