Rahmanullah Gurbaz leaves sick mother's side to help KKR 'family' over the finish line in Qualifier 1

Kolkata Knight Riders' Rahmanullah Gurbaz has not been a regular face in this year's IPL edition.

The presence of Phil Salt as an explosive opener and wicketkeeper as well as an ailing mother back home.

Gurbaz left the tournament midway to tend to his mother, who is still in the hospital due to an unspecified illness.

When Phil Salt left the KKR camp ahead of the T20 World Cup to tend to national duties, Gurbaz knew duty would call.

'Yeah my mum is still sick. I went there (Afghanistan) and the call from here was, 'Phil Salt was leaving', and they call me and they message me, 'Gurbaz we need you '. I said, 'Yes, I will come.',' He said on Tuesday after helping his team during the Qualifier 1 against SRH in Ahmedabad.

He heaped praises on the KKR management for their support, 'See if you have top management like (the) KKR family I think you really don't need to worry about anything. Because GG (Gautam Gambhir) sir is there, Shah Rukh (Khan) sir is there, head coach is there, and everyone, like the family, I can say that's all because of them.'

Gurbaz went on to add, 'Because I didn't play for a long time and suddenly come to the semi-final, which is big pressure. But yeah, they took all the pressure from me and they just said just go and enjoy the game.'

Gurbaz gave the Knights a solid foundation with a 14-ball 23 during their chase for 160 and while addressing the press conference after their win, he remarked, 'My mother is still recovering in the hospital, I speak to her every day. But I knew my KKR family needed me here once Phil Salt left. So I came back from Afghanistan, and I'm happy to be here. My mother is happy for me too.'

The 22-year-old was also all-praise for veteran pacer Mitchell Starc, who scooped up three wickets in the crucial game, 'He was just unbelievable. The way he bowled today. I mean, he's one of the best. He has a lot of experience and he knows how to manage the big games. And, yeah, I saw him today totally differently than other games. He was so good today, yeah.'

Kolkata Knight Riders sailed into the IPL 2024 Final with an emphatic 8-wicket win over the Sunirsers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad on May 21.

In the first innings, after being asked to bowl first, Shreyas & Co ripped apart the explosive SRH batting order to restrict them to a paltry 159.

Mitchell Starc was awarded Player of the Match for his exploits with the ball (3/34).