Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler Harshit Rana is set to miss a major part of IPL 2026 as he recovers from the knee surgery he underwent in February. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Rana, who suffered a knee strain during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa, is doing his rehab with no firm date of return earmarked by BCCI medical team yet.
If Rana misses the entire IPL, which begins on March 28, it will be the second major tournament he misses in a row after he had been ruled out of the T20 World Cup, which India went on to win.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that Rana, who won Best International Debutant at the BCCI awards on Sunday, suffered a ligament strain in his right knee after he pulled out having delivered just one over in the warm-up game. He was replaced in the main tournament by Mohammed Siraj, who played just one match, India’s opening game against USA.
KKR will also be without left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman for the IPL season after the BCCI “instructed” them to release him from their squad in a climate of strained geopolitical relations between India and Bangladesh in December-January. As KKR were allowed to bring in a replacement, they signed Zimbabwe quick Blessing Muzarabani, who gave up his deal with Islamabad United in the PSL last week.
KKR’s current fast-bowling options also include Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Akash Deep, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi, and allrounders Cameron Green and Ramandeep Singh. There were also concerns about Pathirana’s fitness after he was ruled out of the T20 World Cup with a calf strain he picked up against Australia in the first round. It was expected at that time, a month ago, that his IPL availability was not going to be under threat.
KKR’s opening game is on March 29 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. In the schedule announced so far, they also take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, all at home and in evening games.
