IPL 2023 | Kolkata Knight Riders acquire Shardul Thakur from Delhi Capitals

Shardul Thakur finished the 2022 season of the IPL with 15 wickets in 14 matches and an economy rate of 9.79. With the bat, he scored 120 runs at a strike rate of around 138. File

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have acquired the services of Indian pacer Shardul Thakur from Delhi Capitals (DC) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), as reported by ESPNCricinfo.

The trade was finalised on Monday and it is an all-cash deal. Shardul is currently the part of India’s squad for the ODI series in New Zealand, a tour which will start from November 18 onwards.

He was acquired by Delhi Capitals during the IPL Mega Auction earlier this year at a price of ₹10.75 crore ($1.433 million approx.). Back then, his former team Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans had attempted to buy him, but Delhi emerged victorious in this four-way bidding war.

The pacer finished the 2022 season of the league with 15 wickets in 14 matches and an economy rate of 9.79. These are among his weakest bowling statistics ever since he became a regular in the league back in 2017. With the bat, he scored 120 runs at a strike rate of around 138.

KKR has been the most active franchise during this trading window, which will be closing on Tuesday, the day when IPL teams are supposed to finalise their list of retained/released players.

The retention window is scheduled to close on Tuesday at 5 p.m. IST.

Earlier, for the upcoming IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans transferred fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and Afghan wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz to KKR on Sunday as announced by the Indian Premier League.

New Zealand Ferguson pacer took 12 wickets in 13 games for the Gujarat Titans, including a 4-wicket haul.

Gurbaz was was a substitute for England batter Jason Roy in the Gujarat Titans lineup for the 2022 IPL, however, he did not participate in any games in the prior campaign.

In the IPL 2022, DC had finished at fifth position in the season, with 14 points and seven wins in 14 games. On the other hand, KKR had finished at number seven on the table, with 12 points and six wins in 14 games.