The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) i.e. IPL 2026 is going to start from March 28. Earlier, injuries to fast bowlers have remained a cause of concern for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Harshit Rana may be out of the entire season. Harshit suffered a knee injury in the warm-up match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against South Africa, after which he had to undergo surgery.
According to media reports, it may take 7-8 weeks for him to become fit. This means that he will be available to play till the last stage of this season but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not want to take the risk. In such a situation, it is almost certain that Harshit will be out of the entire IPL 2026. Apart from Harshit, KKR has also suffered a big blow due to the injury of Mathisha Pathirana. Sri Lankan fast bowler Pathirana was injured during the T20 World Cup 2026. He had a hamstring injury. It is not clear for how many matches he will be available.
There are some positives for KKR, which is troubled by the injuries of key fast bowlers, in-form players like Finn Allen, Cameron Green and Rachin Ravindra, who have joined this franchise for the first time. At the same time, the form of Anukul Roy, who has been in KKR for a long time, is also a big boost for the team. The franchise has retained him again for Rs 40 lakh.
Also read: SRH has been avoiding making Indian players captain, statistics bear witness
Anukul Roy is revolting
Anukul, who hails from Samastipur, Bihar, created a stir with ball and bat while playing for Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025. He scored 303 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 160.31 and also took 18 wickets. His economy was below 8. If seen, his contribution in Jharkhand’s title win was no less than that of captain Ishan Kishan.
After this Anukul also performed brilliantly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He played excellent half-centuries against Puducherry and Kerala. Apart from taking 7 wickets, Anukul also scored 62 runs in the Ranji Trophy match against Odisha in January this year.
Also read: Fast bowler injured, question on making Rahane the captain, what will be the condition of KKR?
Will KKR give full chance?
26-year-old Suvid has been associated with KKR since the 2022 season but till now he has got a chance to play only 11 matches. He played two matches in 2022, four each in 2023 and 2024, whereas last season he played only one match. Due to not getting consistent opportunities, he has been able to score only 26 runs for KKR so far. Whereas in bowling, he has only 5 wickets to his name. Considering Anukul’s form, if he is still not given a chance then it will be a big mistake for KKR. By reposing confidence in him, KKR can save its sinking ship.
Full squad of KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Tejaswi Dahiya, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sarthak Ranjan, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Daksh Kamra, Cameron Green, Sunil Narine, Rachin Ravindra, Anukul Roy, Akash Deep, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Mathisha Pathirana, Prashant Solanki, Umran Malik, Varun Chakraborty
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