Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have reportedly roped in American cricketer Ali Khan as the direct replacement of fast bowler Harry Gurney for IPL 2020. Ali Khan, 29, had an impressive campaign with Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in this season's Cerrebian Premier League (CPL) 2020. Gurney, who suffered a shoulder injury, is set to undergo his surgery and has pulled out of the IPL and England's Vitality Blast last month.

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Ali was part of the TKR squad which went on to secure the CPL 2020 on a 12-match unbeaten streak. He is also set to become the first American cricketer to feature in the IPL.

The American pacer was recently seen on an Instagram post shared by the TKR and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) allrounder Dwayne Bravo with the caption "next stop Dubai".

Ali's potential arrival makes a lot of sense as KKR head coach and former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum have already worked with the American this season at TKR.

An IPL official, while speaking to ANI, had said that the fact that Restrata was handling the bio-bubbles in both the UK and UAE could work in favour of the English and Australian players and help them get onto the ground without having to go for the six-day quarantine."Restrata is the common factor in both the UK and UAE when it comes to creating the bio-secure environment and they would be very much aware what needs to be done to ensure that the bubble doesn't break when it comes to the players travelling from England to Dubai to be a part of the IPL."So, Restrata handling the bubbles in both places can actually work in favour of the players and save them from undergoing six days of quarantine if they have the Covid negative report with them," the official explained.

Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their IPL 2020 campaign against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on September 23.

The IPL 2020 will be played from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE across three venues --Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.