Who is Aman Khan?

A hard-hitting top-order batter who also bowls handy medium pace, Aman played a lot of his age-group cricket alongside Shreyas Iyer, his Kolkata Knight Riders skipper. Born and raised in Mumbai, he took to the game at a young age after watching his father, who played Under-19 cricket for Mumbai. Known for his flamboyant shots, Aman enjoys batting against the quicks and off-spinners with a penchant for hitting sixes and it is his free-flowing swing of the bat that has often stood out.

Rise as an all-rounder

Growing up, his father wanted him to be a fast bowler. As a result, Aman never batted until his fourth grade. Playing at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana as an 11-year-old, he first met Shreyas Iyer, while being coached under the tutelage of former India cricketer Pravin Amre.

His turning point as a young cricketer came shortly after he suffered a thigh and toe injury due to a road accident. Despite the injury, his father insisted he turned up for a game next day in the Worli Under-14 tournament even if it meant being a water boy. Aman convinced the coaches he was fit to play after his side lost early wickets against a bowling unit replete with tearaway quicks. As fate would have it,Aman scored 60 and bailed his side out of trouble. Amre noted the timing and the languid swing of the bat. Promoted to bat at No. 4 in the next game, he batted throughout the course of the innings and singlehandedly won the match. His heroics were duly rewarded with an opener’s slot next game onwards, a position he has often excelled in.

Under-19 years

Consistent run-scoring propelled him into the radars of Under-19 selectors. However, in his second year of Under-19 cricket, he suffered his first setback in the form of a run glut and stopped focusing on cricket completely for nearly five months.

When he did make a comeback, he finished as the highest wicket-taker for an Under-19 tournament picking 24 wickets and scoring four half-centuries but tore his Anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee. With a 45-day deadline to be back playing his best, he put himself through rigorous Under-19 practice tours which resulted in his Mumbai U19 team selection. He performed well to be rewarded with a place in the Cooch Behar trophy, a stepping stone to the Under-19 World Cup only to be ruled out due to another ligament tear injury.

Mumbai senior squad selection

Aman made his debut for Mumbai in last year’s Vijay Hazare trophy on the back of a consistent Under-23 NCA camp. Not only did he feature in all the knockout games, he was part of the Final that saw Mumbai lift the trophy. He eventually made his Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy debut in the same season and even received his maiden Ranji call-up.

IPL Journey and T20 Pedigree

After six years of attending trials for various IPL franchises, he finally managed to break through when Kolkata Knight Riders secured the 25-year-old’s services for INR 20 Lakhs in this year’s IPL auction as an uncapped all-rounder.

Although his Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy numbers don’t extend beyond 40 runs in five innings, he struck at a strike rate of 148.1.

He provided a glimpse of run-scoring abilities when he played alongside Shreyas Iyer in the inaugural season of the T20 Mumbai tournament in 2018. The duo shared a 127-run stand for the second wicket in a losing cause when Iyer scored a 57-ball 72 and Aman scored a 47-ball 85, a knock that featured six fours and six sixes. He also once scored a 14-ball half-century in a club game.

Having played majority of his professional cricket at the Wankhede stadium and DY Patil, he is no stranger to the conditions on offer and also brings local intel.