Sakib Hussain

Sakib Hussain was born in Gopalganj, Bihar, into a family that knew hardship well. His father works as a labourer, and the financial constraints that shadowed his early years made his journey to professional cricket all the more hard-won. Yet cricket was never far from his mind. The Minz Stadium in his hometown became his regular haunt, a place where he would simply sit and watch matches for hours, absorbing the game long before he had the means to pursue it seriously.

His first meaningful competitive opportunity came in 2021 when he turned out for Gaya Gladiators in the Bihar Cricket League. Shortly after, he was selected for an Under-19 tournament in Chandigarh and earned a place at a BCCI High-Performance Camp, recognition that confirmed his raw abilities were being noticed beyond the state circuit.

He made his domestic debut in the 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. His first outing against Andhra Pradesh did not go to plan, but he responded in the same tournament by picking up four wickets against Gujarat, an effort that placed him firmly on the radar of IPL scouts. Kolkata Knight Riders, who have a long history of identifying and backing raw young talent, did exactly that at the IPL 2024 auction, picking him up on the basis of what they had seen in him.

His first-class debut came against Karnataka at Patna in October 2024, and he announced himself with a ten-wicket haul against Arunachal Pradesh early in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaign, including a first-innings burst of 6-51 that skittled them for 105.

His IPL trajectory mirrors the resilience of his bowling. He was part of KKR's title-winning squad in 2024 but did not get to play a single game, an experience he nevertheless found instructive. He was released by KKR ahead of the following season, went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, and then returned to the drawing board before Sunrisers Hyderabad picked him up for his base price of Rs 30 lakh at the IPL 2026 auction.