IPL 2022: KKR's Mohammad Nabi just four runs away from impressive feat

Kolkata Knight Riders have made a smart buy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction 2022 in the form of Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. The veteran, who captains Afghanistan in T20 internationals, is no stranger to the tournament and he will be looking to reach a huge personal milestone when KKR faces defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the opener on March 26.

Nabi is currently just four runs away from completing 5000 runs in T20s. If he can do it, he will become just the fifth cricketer in history to score 5000 runs and take 300 wickets in the shortest format of the game. He already has 302 wickets to his name for country and other franchises.

A look at the all-rounders who have taken 300+ wickets and 5000+ runs -

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

Nabi, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad till the same season, has taken 13 wickets and has scored 180 runs in the IPL till now. He also has an impressive strike rate of 151.26.

KKR produced a brilliant run of form in the latter half of IPL 2021 but it was not enough to win the title as they were comprehensively defeated by CSK in the final.

With new talent like Aaron Finch, Sam Billings and Ajinkya Rahane joining the ranks, the two-time champions will look to start the new season positively and Nabi can be a key figure in the side as a back-up for Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.