CHENNAI: On December 19, 2023, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, auctioneer Mallika Sagar gave a fair bit of time and chances for all ten franchises to pick the first name of the capped wicketkeeper list for his base price of `1.5 crore. There were no takers. Maybe it was his base price or maybe there was some other reason, he could not find a home.
It was baffling for the young lad because he was not half bad for the side represented in the previous season of IPL and his form with the white ball for the national team was nothing short of astonishing. But that’s how the dice rolls in cricket. Touring with his national team, that too in the Caribbeans, while the auction going on thousands of miles away was probably the best way to distract his mind. And that is what he did. He smashed 119 off just 57 balls, his second consecutive T20I ton, against the likes of Jason Holder and Andre Russell. His name? Philip Dean Salt.
However, the IPL had different plans for the 27-year-old. When his fellow Englishman, Jason Roy, slated to represent Kolkata Knight Riders, withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons, Salt got his chance. Given his experience with gloves and sheer numbers in the T20s with the bat, he even started in the playing XI for Kolkata right from the get-go. In the first match at his new home ground, Salt peppered the South African pacer Marco Jansen for three back-to-back sixes to announce his arrival. He went on to score a half-century in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In this season, the unconventional opening pair of Salt and Sunil Narine have been asked to just go out there and make most of the powerplay. So far, they have nailed their role in the competition for the team. They are the top two run scorers for Kolkata with Narine. Among openers, only Sunrisers duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have scored more runs per over in the IPL so far (13.07 runs/over) than the Kolkata pair (11.91 runs/over). While Narine has been doing this job for the franchise for years, Salt has taken to this new team like a fish to water.
That continued when Kolkata hosted Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens. It started with a six off Mohammed Siraj’s first over, followed by a stunning pull shot the very next ball. Even when Narine struggled against the likes of Siraj and Yash Dayal, there was no stopping Salt. Dayal started exceptionally well against Narine but Salt treated him for a cracking four through the covers. Lockie Ferguson faced the brunt of Salt’s batting with the right-hander smoking the New Zealander for 28 runs.
The start Bengaluru got against Narine, was single-handedly neutralised by Salt. Siraj did send him back on 48 in the next over but by then, the damage was already done as KKR posted 222/6. Even when his batting was done for the day, Salt became a blessing for Kolkata when his sharp wicketkeeping secured a one-run win against RCB. Ferguson, unfortunately, was again at the receiving end as the wicketkeeper broke the stumps to give Kolkata the narrowest win.
Phil Salt was not in Kolkata’s plans on the auction day. He came into the squad just two weeks before he faced the first ball of the competition for his franchise. However, over the seven fixtures so far, Salt has been nothing less than a blessing in disguise for Shreyas Iyer’s side. The Roy withdrawal had already given them lemons and with the addition of this Salt, looks like they have made a perfect lemonade so far.
Brief scores: KKR: 222/6 in 20 ovs (Shreyas 50, Salt 48) bt RCB 221 all out in 20 ovs (Jacks 55, Patidar 52).