Nikhil Shankar Naik (born 9 November 1994) is an Indian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who plays for

Maharashtra cricket team The Maharashtra cricket team is a state cricket team that represents the Maharashtra state in domestic cricket of India. It is governed by Maharashtra Cricket Association. It plays its home matches at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium i ...

. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

. He made his

List A List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...

debut on 27 February 2014, for Maharashtra in the

2013–14 Vijay Hazare Trophy The 2013–14 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the 21st edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, an annual List A cricket tournament in India. It took place in February and March 2014. In the final, Karnataka cricket team, Karnataka beat Railways cricket team, ...

. In 2015, he was signed up by the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

franchise

Kings XI Punjab The Punjab Kings, also known as PBKS, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in New Chandigarh, Punjab, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burm ...

for Rs. 30 lakh. In December 2018, he was bought by the

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

in the

player auction Player auction is a significant aspect of modern sports leagues, prominently observed in cricket and baseball, where teams bid to acquire the services of players for a specific tournament or season. The process involves a blend of strategy, fin ...

for the

2019 Indian Premier League The 2019 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 12) was the twelfth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. At one point othe ...

. He made his first-class debut for Maharashtra in the

2018–19 Ranji Trophy The 2018–19 Ranji Trophy was the 85th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament that took place in India between November 2018 and February 2019. Vidarbha were the defending champions. The final took place between ...

on 7 January 2019. During a match in the 2019 season of the

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a domestic Twenty20 cricket championship in India, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It is named after former Test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali. It is played by the teams from the R ...

, he smashed five sixes in an over against

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

at the

Holkar Stadium Holkar Cricket Stadium is located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is owned and operated by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association and serves as its headquarter. It is the home ground of Madhya Pradesh cricket team as well as MP women's team. ...

. He was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2020 IPL auction. In the 2020 IPL auction, he was bought by the

ahead of the

2020 Indian Premier League The 2020 Indian Premier League (also known as IPL 13 and branded as Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020) was the thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket (T20) league established by the Board of Control for ...

References

External links

* 1994 births Living people Indian cricketers Maharashtra cricketers Punjab Kings cricketers Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen People from Sindhudurg district Cricketers from Maharashtra Wicket-keepers {{India-cricket-bio-1994-stub