Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Harshit Rana is out of IPL 2026 due to injury. At present the topic is under discussion as to who will replace Harshit in the KKR team. According to a report by Cricbuzz, the management of Kolkata Knight Riders believes that they have enough fast bowling options and they do not need a replacement for Harshit.
On the other hand, there is doubt over the play of Sri Lankan fast bowler Mathisha Pathirana. He suffered an injury during the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament, due to which he had to be out of the remaining matches of the World Cup. Now there are question marks over his playing in IPL 2026. Kolkata had bought him in the mini auction with a huge bid of Rs 18 crore.
Who will be the replacement?
According to a report by Cricbuzz, Kolkata Knight Riders are not interested in finding replacements for Harshit Rana and Mathisha Pathirana. KKR management believes that it has four excellent Indian bowling options. Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Akashdeep and Karthik Tyagi are part of the Kolkata team.
One reason why KKR is showing interest in not finding a replacement is that it has recently included Blessing Muzarabani in its squad. This 6 and a half feet tall bowler from Zimbabwe had wreaked havoc in the T20 World Cup. He took 13 wickets in the entire tournament. With his arrival, KKR’s bowling unit has undoubtedly strengthened. Muzarabani has left PSL franchise Islamabad United, due to which PCB has also threatened him with legal action.
Harshit Rana’s IPL career
Harshit Rana has consistently been one of the best performing bowlers for Kolkata Knight Riders. In the 2024 season, he took 19 wickets and last season, while playing for KKR, he took 15 wickets. So far, Harshit has taken 40 wickets in his 34-match IPL career.
