Kolkata Knight Riders have received another setback ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 season. Fast bowler Akash Deep has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury, adding to the team’s growing list of fitness concerns.
The development has increased pressure on KKR’s pace attack as the team prepares for the new IPL season.
Akash Deep Undergoing Rehabilitation
Akash Deep has not joined the KKR training camp and is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
He was previously part of Lucknow Super Giants before being bought by KKR for ₹1 crore during the IPL mini-auction held in December 2025.
A KKR official confirmed the situation, stating that the pacer will miss the entire IPL 2026 season.
More Injury Concerns for KKR
KKR are already dealing with several injury problems in their fast-bowling unit.
Young pacer Harshit Rana recently underwent knee surgery and is expected to miss a significant part of IPL 2026.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana is also not fully fit. He suffered an injury ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 and must pass a fitness test conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket.
He will also need to receive a No Objection Certificate before he can join the IPL squad.
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KKR Pace Bowlers Injury Status
| Player | Situation | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| Akash Deep | Injury | Ruled out of IPL 2026 |
| Harshit Rana | Knee surgery | Likely to miss major part of season |
| Matheesha Pathirana | Recovering from injury | Awaiting fitness clearance |
Mustafizur Rahman Replaced by Blessing Muzarabani
Another development affected the KKR squad during the IPL auction period.
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was initially signed by the franchise. However, the board later requested KKR to release him following tensions between India and Bangladesh.
As a result, Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani has been named as his replacement.
The tall pacer is expected to strengthen the team’s bowling unit and could make his first IPL appearance for KKR this season.
KKR Squad for IPL 2026
Below is the full squad for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026.
| Players |
|---|
| Ajinkya Rahane |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi |
| Anukul Roy |
| Harshit Rana |
| Manish Pandey |
| Ramandeep Singh |
| Rinku Singh |
| Rovman Powell |
| Sunil Narine |
| Umran Malik |
| Vaibhav Arora |
| Varun Chakaravarthy |
| Cameron Green |
| Tejasvi Singh |
| Finn Allen |
| Karthik Tyagi |
| Prashant Solanki |
| Tim Seifert |
| Rahul Tripathi |
| Daksh Kamra |
| Rachin Ravindra |
| Akash Deep |
| Matheesha Pathirana |
| Sarthak Ranjan |
With Akash Deep ruled out and Harshit Rana recovering from surgery, KKR’s pace attack has been weakened ahead of the new season.
The team will now depend on other fast bowlers in the squad, while also hoping that Pathirana clears his fitness tests soon.
The arrival of Blessing Muzarabani could help balance the bowling unit as the team prepares for the upcoming IPL matches.
KKR management will closely monitor player fitness in the coming weeks as they finalize their combinations for the season.
