Due to a ligament injury he acquired during a warm-up match prior to the last T20 World Cup, bowler Harshit Rana was ruled out of the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Friday, which is a major setback to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
During India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa, the fast bowler strained a ligament in his right knee. He had surgery in February and required a lengthy recuperation period.
“It is a big blow because Harshit Rana has been an integral part of this team for the last couple of seasons, also the championship season. Over the last year, he’s really grown as a cricketer,” PTI quoted KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar as saying.
However, Nayar could not provide a specific timeframe for Rana’s comeback.
“We will always miss Harshit Rana; it’s not easy to replace him. But over the last few days, we’ve looked at a few bowlers as to who fits in and who can do that role to the best of their ability. Hopefully, we’ll take a call in a couple of days,” Nayar added.
Fast bowlers like Navdeep Saini, Akash Madhwal, Simarjeet Singh, Sandeep Warrier, and KM Asif were spotted training at the Eden Gardens this week in preparation for the IPL.
The IPL gets underway on March 28. KKR’s campaign begins on March 29 against the Mumbai Indians, and on April 2 they play their first home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In terms of Varun Chakravarthy’s performance, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane said the break following the T20 World Cup would be beneficial for the spinner, who conceded a lot of runs in the marquee tournament held at home in February and March.
“I don’t see any problem with Varun’s bowling ability… In the T20 World Cup, opposition batters played him (Varun Chakravarthy) really well. Let’s give credit to them rather than talking about Varun. I think this 10-day break really helped him, especially coming after a high-intensity tournament to another high-intensity tournament,” Rahane said.
Alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Chakravarthy took the most wickets in the mega event with 14 scalps, but they came at a cost of 9.25 runs per over.
