Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have included Vidarbha’s tall left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Dubey in the team in place of injured Indian seamer Akash Deep, ahead of IPL 2026.
Akash Deep was out of the team due to stress reaction in his lower back. His injury has further increased the challenges faced by KKR’s fast bowling, as earlier Harshit Rana was also out of the team due to meniscus tear surgery. Dubey, 28, has joined the team from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) after going unsold in the 2025 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi (his base price was ₹30 lakh). He was briefly associated with Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022, but was ruled out due to injury and is yet to make his debut in the league.
A franchise official told IANS: “Saurabh Dubey has been signed by KKR as a replacement for Akash Deep. He was a net bowler for us, used to practice at the Eden Gardens and Mumbai camp, but now he will be part of the main team.” Dubey has limited domestic cricket experience—8 List A and 3 T20 matches for Vidarbha—and had represented India A under coach Sitanshu Kotak at the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Former selector Subroto Banerjee was keeping an eye on him earlier.
KKR has not yet taken any decision on Rana’s replacement; They have conducted trials for fast bowling options at Eden Gardens from Wednesday.
Under the captaincy of experienced Ajinkya Rahane, KKR will begin their campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium. This will be followed by home matches: against Sunrisers Hyderabad (April 2), Punjab Kings (April 6), and Lucknow Super Giants (April 9) at the Eden Gardens.
This move will strengthen KKR’s fast bowling which is suffering from injuries, as Dubey will give the team a different left-arm bowling option.
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