Just weeks ahead of the start of IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders have been dealt a big blow with their star Indian pacer Harshit Rana being ruled out of the upcoming edition. Harshit Rana injured his knee during a warm up match against South Africa and was ruled out of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The 24 year old went through a surgery on February 9 but it is revealed now that he will not recover in time to play for KKR in the Indian Premier League 2026.
Harshit has been a crucial part of the Knight Riders team since the last three years. He played a crucial role in the 2024 championship campaign where he picked up 19 wickets and that marked his rise as a pacer and even helped him make debut for India across formats. He was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2025 IPL auction for 4 Crore in the uncapped category. 
KKR are yet to decide a replacement for him and other Indian pacers will be keen to step up in his absence. Kolkata have named Blessing Muzarabani as replacement for Mustafizur Rahman and they also are likely to miss Matheesha Pathirana who is also injured and recovering. At this time, Kolkata Knight Riders have to rely on the Indian pacers to do the job and the likes of Akash deep, Umran Malik and Vaibhav Arora are likely to get more chances.
Blessing Muzarabani joining KKR has boosted their side and the Zimbabwe pacer is likely to join with the side on March 17 and start the preparations. He was impressive for Zimbabwe in the 2026 T20 World Cup and has been rewarded for his consistency. Kolkata Knight Riders will be hoping that he does well with the IPL set to begin on March 28. The initial phase schedule has been released and Kolkata Knight Riders will be keen to have a good season this time around after failing to qualify for the playoffs in the 2025 IPL.
