Harshit Rana is the latest addition to the long list of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers who could miss the entire season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The Indian pacer led the pace attack in the previous season in the absence of Mitchell Starc. KKR, coming into the IPL 2026 auction, had the biggest purse and splurged their money to get the likes of Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana, and Mustafizur Rahman.
However, their pace bowling stocks have plummeted to the ground since the auction. Even before the season has begun, the Knight Riders have been facing multiple availability issues when it comes to their bowlers.
It all began when the BCCI mandated the three-time champions to release Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their team due to ongoing violence in the country. Then Harshit Rana injured himself while playing in the warm-up games of the T20 World Cup 2026. To make matters worse for them, their 18-crore buy, Matheesha Pathirana, too, was injured during the T20 World Cup. Shah Rukh Khan’s franchise has roped in Blessing Muzarabani as Rahman’s replacement, but that does not solve KKR’s problems.
List of unavailable players for KKR
The list of unavailable players is growing steadily for the Knight Riders. Before the season has even begun, the following players have been named as doubtful for the upcoming season.
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Mustafizur Rahman (unavailable), Blessing Muzarabani named replacement
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Harshit Rana (injured)
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Matheesha Pathirana (injured)
Also Read: IPL 2026: Blessing Muzarabani Picks IPL Over PSL, Joins KKR As Mustafizur Rahman’s Replacement
No third pacer for KKR
Having bought Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman, the Knight Riders would have hoped to have a pace bowling attack featuring the overseas quick along with Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora. Vaibhav has been bowling with the new ball for the Knight Riders in the last few seasons. Meanwhile, Harshit has been their go-to bowler at the death. With Pathirana and Rahman in the team, KKR had multiple options during the back end of the innings.
With Andre Russell retired, KKR now find themselves without a potent third pacer or any suitable backups. Viabhav Arora, along with Muzarabani, will be leading the pace attack and sharing the new ball. However, it still leaves a lot of questions that need to be answered when it comes to death bowling. With no Rana or Rahman, and Pathirana appearing to miss a few games as well, KKR could be in serious trouble with their death bowling.
Also Read: KKR IPL 2026 First Phase Schedule
Who bowls for KKR in the death?
With Vaibhav Arora often bowling three overs with the new ball and finishing his spell in the middle overs, he has very little experience with bowling in the death overs. Zimbabwean pacer, Muzarabani, too, is a bowler who likes to take the new ball and could very well bowl two of his four overs in the power play.
Thankfully for KKR, they have Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy among their ranks, ensuring that the middle overs would be sorted. With no Russell, KKR would need to find at least two more bowling options. Preferably, one who could bowl in the back end of the innings.
Who does KKR choose from their back-ups?
One thing that works for KKR is that they have a decent pool of fast bowlers in their reserves. The three options that stand out are Akash Deep, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi. However, all three come with their own set of baggage.
In spite of his success with the Indian team in test cricket, Akash Deep has not been able to nail the shortest format. The right-arm pacer has an economy of more than 11 runs per over from 14 games in the Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, Umran Malik has not been in the best of form since his heroics in IPL 2022. In the last three years, he has played only nine games in the IPL and has bowled 21 overs at an economy of more than 11 runs per over. In the recently concluded DY Patil T20 Cup, Malik was hit for 59 runs in his two overs.
Kartik Tyagi, too, is short on game time in the last few years. The 25-year-old has played only 10 games in the IPL since 2021. However, unlike the other two options, Tyagi has a bit more experience bowling the death overs. With him, KKR could use Arora at the top of the innings when the ball is new.
Also Read: KKR Pacer Umran Malik Leaks 36 in One Over, 59 in Two During DY Patil T20 Cup Spell
Blessing in disguise for KKR?
Some positives for KKR amidst all their player unavailability issues are that they can go with an overseas opening duo as well. Two out of the four overseas slots for KKR were locked in with Sunil Narine and their 25.2 crore buy, Cameron Green. With Mustafizur Rahman and Pathirana, there could have been issues in trying to find a spot for someone like Finn Allen at the top of the order.
However, now with the two players being unavailable, Allen is locked in as one of the opening batters. KKR could go in for an all-Indian pace attack or replace Muzrabani with an Indian spinner like Anukul Roy if there is spin assistance at Edeng Gardens. This will allow them to have an opening duo of Kiwi batters, Tim Seifert and Allen. The two batters recently lit up the T20 World Cup 2026, and could prove to be a fiery opening duo for the Knight Riders.
