Harshit Rana in action for KKR© AFP
Kolkata Knight Riders have decided to not seek a replacement for Indian cricket team fast bowler Harshit Rana ahead of IPL 2026, according to a report by Cricbuzz. Harshit was ruled out of the competition due to a knee injury and will not be available for the complete season. He underwent surgery following the T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa and ended up missing that tournament as well. However, the report claimed that KKR will not replacing him in the squad at the moment as the team management believes that they have sufficient pace bowling options at the moment,
The squad currently has four Indian pace bowling options – Akash Deep, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi and Akash Deep. They also have two overseas pacers in the side – Matheesha Pathirana and Blessing Muzarabani.
While there are some concerns over Pathirana’s fitness as well, KKR believes that he will be making his return later in the season. As a result, they have no plans on replacing the Sri Lanka pacer who was bought for Rs 18 crore.
KKR roped in Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani for IPL 2026 as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman.
The 29-year-old was among the prominent bowlers in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup, finishing as the joint third-highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps as Zimbabwe made it to the Super Eights stage.
“KKR have signed Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani to join the squad for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026 season,” KKR said in a statement.
“The 6 ft 8″ right-arm quick has emerged as one of Zimbabwe’s leading pace bowlers in the shortest format, known for his steep bounce and ability to strike in key phases of the innings.” “Muzarabani brings significant T20 experience, having claimed over 90 wickets in more than 80 T20 Internationals at an average of around 21, with best figures of 3/8. His pace and consistency across global leagues and international cricket add further depth to KKR’s pace attack heading into the season.”
The addition of Muzarabani to Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling ranks follows the exit of Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who was released by the franchise last December.