New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered a major blow ahead of IPL 2026, with key fast bowler Harshit Rana ruled out for the entire season with a knee injury. The young fast bowler picked up the injury during the T20 World Cup warm-up match and has since undergone surgery, leaving the team busy filling the gap.
Head coach Abhishek Nair admitted that Rana’s absence will be difficult to handle given his importance to the team in recent seasons.“It’s a big blow because Harshit Rana has been an integral part of this team for the last two seasons, the championship season as well. Over the last year, he has really grown as a cricketer,” Nair told reporters at the pre-season press conference.“We will always miss Harshit Rana, replacing him is not easy. But in the last few days, we have seen a few bowlers who fit in and who can play the role to the best of their abilities. Hopefully, we will make a call in a couple of days,” he added.KKR have been trialling several fast bowlers in training as they look for the right replacement.
More injury concerns for KKR?
To make matters worse, Sri Lankan pacer Muttisha Patherana is also recovering from injury and is yet to be cleared to play, adding to KKR’s woes.However, there is some positive news surrounding spinner Varun Chakraborty. Despite a costly outing in the T20 World Cup, captain Ajinkya Rahane backed him to bounce back.Rahane said, “I don’t see any problem with Varun’s bowling ability… In the T20 World Cup, the opposition batsmen played him (Varn Chakraborty) very well.”“I think that 10-day break really helped, especially coming into another high-intensity tournament after a high-intensity tournament,” Rahane added.With the season starting soon, KKR will hope to overcome these challenges quickly.
