The Kolkata Knight Riders have been like a freight train that steamrolled through most of their opponents in the IPL 2024 season. With stalwarts like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Shreyas Iyer, Phil Salt, and more, the Gautam Gambhir-led franchise has officially made their way into the final of the tournament. But SInce Salt has returned from his national commitments, Rahmanullah Gurbaz has replaced him. But it was not easy for the Afghan stumper-batter as he had to make a difficult decision to leave his mother behind, who is currently hospitalized.

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Rahmanullah Gurbaz says KKR is his family, had to come for them while making the difficult decision to leave his ailing mom behind

Rahmanullah Gurbaz competed in his first match for KKR in the IPL 2024 season in the playoff qualifier against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. After the team's grand win, Gurbaz revealed that he had to make the difficult choice to leave his ailing mother behind, but he chose to come as the team needed him since Phil Salt had to leave. 

"As a cricketer, you (should) know, what to do. (In) League cricket, only a fewer players can play. If there is opportunity for you, you should do best. If there's no opportunity for you, you should be prepared, well prepared for the opportunity.

"My mom is still sick. I went (back) there, and the call from here was (that) Phil Salt was leaving. They called and messaged me that 'Gurbaz, we need you, and what is your feedback for us?' I said, 'Yes, I will come'. My mom is still in hospital, and I'm always talking to her, but this is also my family. I should manage both of that, my mom and my KKR family. It's hard, it's tough, but still, I need to manage it," Gurbaz said while speaking to the media in the post-match press conference.

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Gurbaz replaced Englishman Phil Salt, who caused mayhem throughout the league stage. The Afghan stumper hit the ground running in his first encounter of the season, helping the two-time winners advance to the IPL final with an easy eight-wicket win.