IPL 2018 | Foot injury rules KKR pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti out of this year’s IPL

It seemed to be a fairytale end to a sensational season for U-19 India colts pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti who was picked up for a massive Rs. 3.2 crore at the auction held in January ahead of the U-19 World Cup final. But it all seems to have been a mirage for Nagarkoti, as a foot injury ruled out the young speedster for this year’s IPL.

Nagarkoti suffered this injury before the start of the season during training and will fail to recover in time to help the Knight Riders bowling department this year. Karnataka pacer, Prasidh Krishna was called-in as a last-gasp replacement for the outgoing Nagarkoti.

Prasidh made his first-class debut for Karnataka in 2015, where he picked up a five-wicket haul against the touring Bangladesh A team in Mysore. That remains the lad’s only first-class fixture for the state team, although the right-arm pacer has gone on to feature in 19 List A games, picking up 33 wickets along the way. 

Krishna was a part of Karnataka's campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Unlike Nagarkoti, Prasidh does not match the pace of him, but his tall frame and ability to hit the deck hard makes him a promising bowler.

KKR, who invested heavily in bagging the services of the 19-year-old in this year's mega-auction by shelling out INR 3.2 crore, become even thinner with their bowling resources. The franchise are already without Australian paceman Mitchell Starc, who was ruled out with a tibial bone stress. Mitchell Johnson also had to sit out the match against CSK due to slight injury scare and opted to take rest as a precaution.