Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Harshit Rana is expected to be unavailable for a significant portion of the IPL 2026 season as he continues rehabilitation following knee surgery in February. The BCCI medical team has not yet confirmed a return timeline for the pacer.
If Rana is ruled out for the entire tournament, which begins on March 28, it will mark the second major competition he has missed consecutively after being sidelined from the T20 World Cup that India went on to win.
Rana, who was named Best International Debutant at the BCCI Naman Awards on Sunday, sustained a ligament strain in his right knee during a warm-up match, pulling up after bowling just one over. He was subsequently replaced in India’s World Cup squad by Mohammed Siraj, who featured in only the team’s opening match against USA.
Kolkata Knight Riders will also be without Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman this season after the BCCI instructed the franchise to release him amid strained geopolitical relations between India and Bangladesh in December and January. The franchise utilised the replacement window to sign Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani, who recently withdrew from his deal with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.
KKR’s pace attack options currently include Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Akash Deep, Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi, along with allrounders Cameron Green and Ramandeep Singh. There had been concerns regarding Pathirana’s fitness after he missed the T20 World Cup due to a calf strain suffered against Australia in the first round, although at the time it was expected that his IPL participation would not be affected.
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KKR are scheduled to begin their campaign on March 29 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. According to the fixtures announced so far, they will also face Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at home in evening matches.
