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.

Harshit Rana Ruled Out IPL 2026: Even before the start of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered a big setback. Fast bowler Harshit Rana is out of the entire tournament. Harshit will not be able to play in IPL 2026 due to injury. He was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for an amount of Rs 4 crore.

Harshit Rana was injured in the warm-up match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against South Africa, after which he had to be ruled out of the T20 World Cup. KKR has not announced his replacement yet. On Friday, Kolkata team has included Zimbabwe’s lethal bowler Blessing Muzarabani in its team. It is possible that Muzarabani will be seen replacing Harshit in the Kolkata squad.

Harshit Rana’s exclusion from IPL 2026 after the retirement of Andre Russell is a big blow for KKR. Especially from the bowling point of view in the death overs, the team’s difficulties seem to be increasing. The team includes Mathisha Pathirana, who was bought by KKR in the auction for Rs 18 crore.

Talking about Blessing Muzarabani, he was one of the highest wicket taker bowlers in T20 World Cup 2026. He took a total of 13 wickets in the entire tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders team will hope that Muzarabani will be able to compensate for Harshit Rana.

Let us tell you that Kolkata Knight Riders can launch its new jersey on March 14. According to the schedule of 20 matches released by BCCI, Kolkata Knight Riders’ first match in IPL 2026 will be with Mumbai Indians on March 29. Harshit played 13 matches in the last season i.e. IPL 2025 and took a total of 15 wickets.

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Team India Squad T20 World Cup 2026: Fast bowler Harshit Rana may be ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026 due to injury. According to media reports, Mohammad Siraj can be included in Team India as a replacement for Harshit. Harshit Rana was injured in the warm-up match against South Africa.

In the captains’ press conference of T20 World Cup 2026, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav had said that dropping Harshit from the squad has not been considered yet. But according to a report in Indian Express, Harshit Rana will not be able to get fit in time. According to the report, no final decision has been taken yet regarding Harshit, but his condition is not looking very good.

In the warm-up match against South Africa, this happened twice with Harshit Rana in the same over, when he could not even complete his run-up. In that match, Harshit left the field holding his knee. Harshit Rana was playing a very important role in Team India. Along with bowling, he has also been hitting good batting shots at number 8. Captain Suryakumar has also said that it will be difficult to replace Harshit, but there are many options available in Team India.

Will Mohammad Siraj replace?

According to the report, the selectors can make changes in Team India on Friday. Harshit Rana can be replaced by Mohammad Siraj in Team India. Siraj, who has not played any T20 match for Team India since July 2024. Mohammad Siraj has taken 14 wickets in his 16-match International T20 career so far. He was a part of the winning Indian team of T20 World Cup 2024.

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Now less than 24 hours are left for the start of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Before the start of this global tournament, Team India has suffered a big setback. Star fast bowler Harshit Rana is out of the entire tournament. Rana is out of the T20 World Cup due to injury.

The 2026 T20 World Cup will start from tomorrow, 7th February. A total of 3 matches will be played on the first day of the tournament. Team India will also play its first match of the tournament on Saturday, 7 February. India faces USA in the T20 World Cup on Saturday. However, Harshit Rana’s replacement has not been announced yet.

For your information, let us tell you that Harshit Rana was injured on 4th February. After this, he was sent to the clinic for examination on 5 February. Investigation revealed that there was swelling in his knee, due to which there was lack of movement. Rana also complained of severe pain. After this when the scan was done Lateral Meniscus That means an injury was detected on the outer part of the knee. After the advice of famous orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, he has been asked for surgery. After investigation, the medical team has found that his recovery is not possible without surgery.

15-member Team India for T20 World Cup- Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Akshar Patel (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Harshit Rana (out).

update in progress…