The countdown for IPL 2026 has started and all the teams are busy finalizing their preparations. But meanwhile, the troubles for Kolkata Knight Riders are not showing any signs of diminishing. Just before the start of the tournament, injuries have dealt a big blow to the team.
KKR’s two important fast bowlers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are out of the entire season due to injury. In such a situation, the team management has been forced to make changes in its squad, due to which the bowling combination can also be affected.
IPL 2026: Entry of Saurabh Dubey in place of Akash Deep
After the exclusion of Akash Deep, KKR has included 28-year-old fast bowler Saurabh Dubey in the team as his replacement. According to the report of Cricbuzz, the franchise has expressed confidence in this left-arm pacer who has performed brilliantly in domestic cricket.
Saurabh Dubey plays domestic cricket for Vidarbha and has also been a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad team before this. However, he has not yet got a chance to debut in IPL. In such a situation, this season will be a big opportunity for him to prove himself.
IPL 2026: Big statement regarding Saurabh Dubey
After the entry of Saurabh Dubey, former Indian bowler Subroto Banerjee has praised him a lot. He said that Dubey is a talented left-arm fast bowler, who has the ability to swing the ball both ways. Banerjee also recalled that Dubey played under Rahul Dravid during the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. He believes that KKR management has taken the right decision by including Dubey.
IPL 2026: Harshit Rana’s replacement not found yet
The biggest concern for KKR is that the team has not yet decided the replacement of Harshit Rana. The franchise is looking for a bowler who can prove to be the right fit for the team, but no final decision has been taken at present. A team official has confirmed that discussions on Rana’s option are ongoing and a decision can be taken soon.
Comments are closed.