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Kolkata Knight Riders: He suffered a knee injury during the T20 World Cup warm-up match and was ruled out of the tournament. It was feared that he might not play in IPL. Finally, that fear came true.
Before the start of IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a big blow. Harshit Rana, the team’s key pacer, was ruled out of the entire IPL season due to injury. This young pacer from Delhi was in India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, he was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a knee injury during a warm-up match. It was feared that he might not play in IPL. Finally, that fear came true.
Mohammed Siraj got a chance to replace Rana in the T20 World Cup team. He proved his worth by taking three wickets in the first match against USA. But the news of Harshit Rana getting knocked out raised the concern of the Knight camp. KKR has started looking for alternatives to balance the team. Meanwhile, they have picked up Zimbabwean pacer Muzharbani.
Muzarabani came to the team instead of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman. KKR had to release Mustafizur due to BCCI directive due to political unrest. As a result, the franchise had to make several changes in the team’s pace attack. But Harshit Rana’s knock was a thunderbolt in the KKR camp.
Meanwhile, the game of Mathisha Pathirana, another big signing of KKR, has also become uncertain. He was brought into the team for Tk 18 crore but there are questions about his fitness due to a recent injury. He was released by Chennai Super Kings due to injury problems in the past. There is also uncertainty about when he will be fit.
All in all, KKR is now facing a difficult situation. The team management is looking for a bowler who can bowl effectively in the middle overs as well as in the death overs. Their big challenge now is to solve this problem before the new season.
Kolkata, West Bengal
The sky fell on the head of KKR! The star player was knocked out before the start of the season
