KKR take surprising call on Harshit Rana, Pathirana availability ahead of IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a huge blow as Matheesha Pathirana and Harshit Rana sustained injuries ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The players failed to played in the T20 World Cup 2026 as well. Rana sustained a knee injury before India's first match. He went through a surgery and is most likely to not participate in the IPL 2026. 

Despite injury concerns, KKR have decided to go with their original squad and not add any other pace option. They already have enough options and believe that they'll be able to manage the tournament without more options. Meanwhile, KKR management is hopeful of Pathirana's comeback into the team. 

He might recover from the injury and be available in the latter half of the tournament. Until then, the three-time IPL champions have four Indian pacers, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi and Akash Deep. They also have ZImbabwe's star bowler Blessing Muzarbani in the squad who came in as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman. 

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KKR to take on MI on March 29

In the upcoming IPL season, KKR will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Following this match, KKR will play the rest of the three matches at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The elections will start soon and BCCI will not be able to hold matches there. Hence, they have assigned the three consecutive matches. 

Meanwhile, the board has only released the schedule for the first 20 games. The rest will come out once the election dates are released. The IPL will end on May 31. The opening game will be held between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28, in Bengaluru. Rajat Patidar will lead RCB while Pat Cummins injury will make SRH rethink about captaincy options. 

Also read: KL Rahul’s surprise appearance at KKR camp sparks buzz ahead of IPL 2026