KKR batter Ajinkya Rahane ruled out of remainder of IPL 2022 due to hamstring injury

Kolkata Knight Riders are currently striving hard to secure a berth in the IPL 2022 playoffs, however, the journey has been dealt with a major blow with its opener Ajinkya Rahane. The opener has now been ruled out for the remainder of the IPL 2022 season, the announcement of which was made by KKR on his social media handle. 

Ajinkya Rahane's injury rules player out of IPL 2022

Speaking of Ajinkya Rahane, the cricketer suffered a hamstring injury during Kolkata Knight Riders' previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. As per the Espncricinfo report, Rahane was seen clutching his hamstring with team physio also going out to attend him at the end of the powerplay overs during KKR's match against SRH. He continued to hobble, though, before being dismissed in the eighth over by Umran Malik.

With Ajinkya Rahane gone, Kolkata Knight Riders will have options in form of Aaron Finch, B Indrajith, Sam Billings and Sunil Narine, who have all opened the innings during the period Rahane was dropped from the team, to partner Venkatesh Iyer at the top.

Ajinkya Rahane performance for KKR in IPL 2022

Ajinkya Rahane finished the IPL 2022 season with 133 runs from seven innings at an average of 19.00 and strike rate of 103.90. The KKR opener's best innings came in the team's first match, the tournament-opener against Chennai Super Kings. Rahane scored 44 runs in 34 balls in a six-wicket victory for his team.

However, post the opening game, the Mumbai-based cricketer did not have the best of his stint in the next four matches, only managing to score 9, 12, 7 and 8 runs respectively. While KKR tried various options at the top order, the team returned to the Rahane-Venkatesh Iyer combination against Mumbai Indians on May 9. Knight Riders' next game, their last in the IPL 2022 league stage, will be against Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday at DY Patil Stadium.

Pat Cummins suffers injury

Ajinkya Rahane's injury wasn't the only blow that KKR has received so far, Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins was earlier ruled out of the tournament. The all-rounder was ruled out of the IPL 2022 tournament due to a minor hip injury. Pat Cummins only played five matches in the IPL 2022 season, in which he picked up seven wickets at a strike rate of 17.0 and a relatively disappointing economy of 10.69. He was more impressive with the bat as he smacked 63 runs, including a joint fastest fifty (14 balls) against the Mumbai Indians. While his average with the bat was a mere 15.75, he had an explosive strike rate of 262.50.