Good news for Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR ahead of IPL 2026 season, after injuries to Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, they have…

Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered major injury blows to fast bowlers Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Matheesha Pathirana ahead of IPL 2026 season.

IPL 2026: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders had the biggest budget of Rs 64 crore heading into the IPL 2026 auction last year. But a few months since then, KKR have facing huge trouble heading into the IPL 2026 season with injuries to key players like Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Matheesha Pathirana.

Indian pacers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are all but ruled out of the IPL 2026 season while Sri Lanka fast bowler Pathirana is unlikely to start off before mid-April. There is, however, some good news for the three-time champions as Vidarbha’s left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Dubey has been signed up as replacement for Akash Deep.

The Bengal and Team India pacer was signed up by KKR for Rs 1 crore at the IPL 2026 mini auction last year but is unlikely to play any part in the T20 league this year after a stress reaction to his lower back. His replacement Dubey had been signed up for Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2022 but didn’t play any part for them due to a back injury that year.

“Yes, Saurabh Dubey has been signed by KKR as a replacement for Akash Deep for the upcoming season. Dubey was a net bowler for KKR and was practising with them at Eden Gardens and in their camp in Mumbai, but he will now be in the main squad,” a KKR franchise official was quoted as saying to IANS news agency on Sunday.

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The Vidharba left arm pacer Saurabh Dubey who is the new replacement for KKR
Good height and left arm bowler. Action looks good. If someone knows him more closely give inputs
He looks good to me but when you play a match then the real test is https://t.co/CqQQxjcjZD pic.twitter.com/y3ggN3eVAN
— Venky Mama (@venkymama100) March 22, 2026

The 28-year-old Vidarbha pacer is yet to make his IPL debut and had gone unsold at the IPL 2026 mini auction in Abu Dhabi last year. Dubey became a part of the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP), from where any of the 10 franchises can pick replacements for their injured players. He has turned out in eight List A games and three T20 matches for Vidarbha, was a member of the India ‘A’ team in the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, where current India men’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was the head coach. Dubey had also been tracked by former India pacer Subroto Banerjee, whose term as a national selector ended last year.

No call on Harshit Rana replacement yet

KKR are yet to take a call on replacement for Harshit Rana, who was retained for Rs 4 crore ahead of the IPL 2026 season. Rana is all set to be ruled out of the IPL 2026 after undergoing surgery for a knee injury which he suffered during a T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa earlier this year.

Former Chennai Super Kings pace Pathirana, who was signed up for Rs 18 crore at IPL 2026 mini auction, is yet to get a ‘NOC’ from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board after suffering an injury during T20 World Cup 2026 tournament. Ajinkya Rahane’s KKR will open their IPL 2026 campaign against Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 29. Their first home game will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on April 2.

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The Times Of Bengal