IPL 2025: Why is Umran Malik not present in KKR pre-season Camp?

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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the reigning IPL champions, have commenced their preparations for the upcoming 18th season with an intensive week-long training camp in Mumbai.

This preliminary camp, running from February 21 to 28, will be followed by the final camp in Kolkata which starts from March 12.

The camp features nine domestic players, including key names such as Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Vaibhav Arora. Emerging talents like Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who made a significant impact in 2024, and newcomers Mayank Markande and Luvnith Sisodia are also part of the ongoing preparations.

Under the guidance of head coach Chandrakant Pandit and his support staff, the players are undergoing specialized training sessions encompassing strength and conditioning, skill-based drills, match simulation exercises, and team-building activities, as KKR announced recently.

Umran Malik not spotted in KKR Camp

However, one notable absentee from the camp is express pacer Umran Malik, who was recently acquired by KKR. The Knight Riders bought the Kashmir pacer for Rs 75 lakh in the IPL 2025 mega auction, and his absence from the camp raised concern among the KKR fans.

Why was Umran Malik not in KKR Camp? When will he Join?

Umran Malik was fulfilling rehabilitation and workload management requirements under the supervision of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and is expected to join the squad in the Kolkata phase of preparations. The India pacer's injury issue kept him out of the domestic scene this year. Jammu and Kashmir had a fantastic outing where they reached the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy and pulled off some excellent performances.

MyKhel understands the player completed his rehabilitation and is gearing up for the new season with a new franchise. Even the officials in Jammu and Kashmir cricket also have high hopes for the speedster.

KKR won the IPL 2024 after a stellar season last time, but has undergone huge changes already. They are to appoint a new captain as Shreyas Iyer left for Punjab Kings, while Dwayne Bravo has also replaced Gautam Gambhir as mentor, who was an integral part of their setup last year. Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are two other pillars of the Knights who won't be available for them this year. On the other hand, KKR has also roped in former fielding coach Biju George as the Head of Scouting.