IPL 2026: KKR injury woes worsen, Akash Deep also ruled out | Cricket News – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continue to face the injury woes in their pace bowling as India pacer Akash Deep was ruled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), Cricbuzz reported on Saturday.Akash Deep has not reported for the Kolkata Knight Riders camp, which has been underway in Kolkata since March 18, as per the Circbuzz report.Earlier, Harshit Rana was also ruled out of the season due to the injury that he had sustained during a warm-up match ahead of the recently concluded T20 World Cup.Meanwhile, pacer Matheesha Pathirana is expected to miss the early stages for the KKR.
Speaking at KKR’s pre-season press conference, Abhishek Nayar stated that Pathirana is undergoing rehab with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board and is expected to be match fit around mid-April.“The latest update that we know is he’s obviously with the Sri Lankan cricket board and they took out his rehab. And the latest communication that we’ve had is, hopefully, somewhere mid-April is when they feel he’ll be match fit. That’s what we know as of now,” he said.Earlier, Bangladesh left-armer pacer Mustafizur Rahman was also released by the KKR following BCCI directives amid heightened India-Bangladesh tensions. The issue escalated to the extent that Bangladesh pulled out of the T20 World Cup refusing to play in India, with Scotland coming in as replacement.KKR are set to kick their IPL 2026 campaign off against the Mumbai Indians on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The three-time champions will then face Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, before facing off against last year’s finalists, Punjab Kings, on April 6, also at Eden Gardens.In their fourth IPL match, KKR will face Lucknow Super Giants on April 9 at Eden Gardens.
