Good news for Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR before IPL 2026, star cricketers who played for Dhoni’s CSK in line to replace…

Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders are struggling with injuries to key players Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana ahead of IPL 2026 season.

Former CSK pacer Simarjeet Singh is in line to replace Harshit Rana in IPL 2026. (Photo: IANS)

IPL 2026: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders went into the IPL 2026 mini auction last year with a massive budget of Rs 64 crore and came back a happy bunch with expensive buys like Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana.

However, the build-up for KKR to the IPL 2026 hasn’t been on the right track. Their lead pacer and one of their star performers in the last couple of seasons – Harshit Rana – is set to ruled out of the entire seasons with a knee injury. Rana, who was retained for Rs 4 crore by KKR ahead of IPL 2026 season, was named the Best International Debutant at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 this Sunday.

But Rana turned up at the BCCI Awards with the support of a stick and was struggling to walk around. The KKR all-rounder suffered a knee injury in the T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match vs South Africa earlier this year and is yet to recover from the injury.

Harshit Rana ruled out of the IPL 2026. pic.twitter.com/rx2vu6fP3l
— Abhay Singh (@abhaysingh_13) March 16, 2026

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Former Chennai Super Kings pacer Simarjeet Singh and KM Asif are couple of names in line to replace Rana for the IPL 2026 season. Simarjeet turned out for MS Dhoni’s CSK in IPL 2022 and 2024 season and was part of Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad team in IPL 2025. The Delhi pacer has claimed 11 wickets in 14 matches so far in his career.

Another former CSK pacer KM Asif as turned out for KKR trials to replace Rana in this season. He was part of the CSK set up in IPL 2018 and 2021 while he also played 4 matches for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023 season. In 7 IPL matches so far, he has claimed 7 wickets.

The third pacer in contention to replace Rana is Sandeep Warrier from Tamil Nadu. Warrier was part of the KKR team from IPL 2019 to 2021 and then played for Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 season.

Matheesha Pathirana waits for SLC clearance

While Rana is ruled out, KKR are still waiting to find out about new recruit Matheesha Pathirana. The Sri Lanka pacer was signed up for Rs 18 crore at the IPL 2026 mini auction.

But Pathirana injured his left leg in the middle of T20 World Cup 2026 campaign for Sri Lanka. KKR are yet to receive clearance from Sri Lanka Cricket board about Pathirana.

“They are yet to confirm about his joining. We are in constant touch and almost every day tickets are being booked and cancelled for him,” a KKR team source was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

KKR are also without Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman after he was released following a BCCI directive earlier this year, with Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani brought in as replacement.

Meanwhile, New Zealand cricketers Finn Allen (Rs 2 crore), Tim Seifert (Rs 1.5 crore) and Rachin Ravindra (Rs 2 crore) are set to join the team on Thursday after their impressive T20 World Cup 2026 campaign as they reached the final before losing to India.

KKR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29 and will play their first home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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The Times Of Bengal