New Delhi: In a major setback for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the franchise will lose the services of star all-rounder Harshit Rana in this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rana will miss the entire season of the cash-rich league due to a knee injury, which he suffered during a T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa.
Because of this injury, Rana, who was named in India’s squad for the marquee T20 event, failed to participate in it and now has been ruled out of the IPL 2026. As per a report in Times of India, the Knight Riders have not thought of a replacement for Rana but the search is going on as he looked doubtful for the season.
🚨 BIG BLOW FOR KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS 🚨
Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the IPL 2026 due to an injury. [Pratyush Raj] pic.twitter.com/jPQdMawQ98
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 13, 2026
The franchise, though, announced the signing of Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani on Friday as Mustafizur Rahman’s replacement, who was released following BCCI’s guidelines. Meanwhile in a bid to be fit for the IPL, the 24-year-old cricketer underwent surgery in Mumbai on February 9 but on March 13, it was confirmed that he won’t be fit in time for KKR’s IPL campaign.
Rana’s absence big blow for KKR
In KKR’s 2024 title-winning campaign, Rana played a pivotal role claiming 19 wickets and earning a spot in India’s squad across formats. He was then retained by the franchise for ₹4 crore ahead of the 2025 season. In his absence, the franchise would be hoping that players like Akash Deep, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi should make the most of their chances which will be beneficial for KKR.
Meanwhile, Kolkata will unveil their jersey on March 14, Saturday while the side kicks off their campaign against five-time champions Mumbai Indians on March 29 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.