Ali Khan - USA's first cricketer in the IPL

Ali Khan must have wondered whether his cricket playing days were behind him when he moved to Ohio in his late teens. Little did he know that a decade later, he would have a contract with one of the richest teams in the world. Along the way, there would be recognition, heartache, injuries, and plenty of rubbing shoulders with cricket’s biggest names.

Khan was a relative unknown when he turned up in Indianapolis in 2015 for a cricket trial for an ICC Americas side to compete in the West Indies. However, he impressed selectors such as Windies legend Courtney Walsh with his pace and ability to bowl yorkers and won his place in a 15-man squad alongside established national team players from the US and Canada.

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Months later, there was a contract with the Caribbean Premier League side Guyana Amazon Warriors, but there were significant setbacks on the horizon. He could not stay fit and barely featured for either Guyana or the USA over the next couple of seasons due to repeated injuries. Fortunately, he was selected for Winnipeg Hawks in Canada’s Global T20 competition. He impressed their star player Dwayne Bravo, another Windies star player, enough for Bravo to recommend him to his CPL franchise, the Trinbago Knight Riders. More tears followed, though, at the end of 2018 as he went unsold in the 2018 IPL auction.

Thankfully, the rest is a story of success as strong performances for the Knight Riders and the US followed. An untimely injury for another player led to Knight Rider’s sister team's call in the IPL.

All of which means that he now finds himself poised to be the first US national player to play in cricket’s biggest club competition. Before his debuts in the CPL and for the USA, Khan worked as a mobile phone rep for Cricket Wireless in Ohio and Cincinnati.

Maybe he never dared to believe that one day he would be getting a call from Kolkata Knight Riders, who will be hoping that his fast yorkers help them to lift the IPL trophy. We salute your passion and love for the sport Ali!