The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have had a tough time even before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has begun. A team that had most bases covered after the IPL auction will now have to seek two replacements. This is after they had already drafted in Blessing Muzarabani as a replacement to Mustafizur Rahman, who was let go due to the BCCI’s order.

Two players who were supposed to spearhead the KKR pace attack have been ruled out of IPL 2026. First, it was Harshit Rana, who was unfortunate to endure an injury during India’s only warm-up game at T20 World Cup 2026. He missed being part of a T20 World Cup squad and was seen in crutches at recent BCCI NAMAN awards.

He won’t be recovering in time. Just when KKR were looking forward to local Indian pacers to replace Harshit, another woeful news followed. Akash Deep, another Indian international pacer, has been confirmed to miss the IPL season due to lower-back stress.

Who will replace Akash Deep in KKR squad?

Akash Deep, who suffered an ankle injury during Bengal’s Ranji Trophy semi-final fixture against eventual champions Jammu and Kashmir, went to the BCCI CoE. He was taken care of by the BCCI doctors before spending some time with his family. Everything seemed to go as planned when KKR signed him up for INR 1 crore. However, before joining the KKR camp, Akash Deep experienced pain in his lower back, delaying his arrival.

Now, he is ruled out entirely, with his recovery to take almost three months. With this, KKR need to seek another replacement. While they were looking at Simarjeet Singh to replace Rana, KKR are now reportedly interested in former Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer. As per Revsportz, KKR are likely to sign Akash Madhwal, who could replace Akash Deep.

Madhwal has played 17 matches in his IPL career since debuting for MI in 2023. He is best known for his record-breaking spell of 5/5 against the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2023 Eliminator, which remains the best-ever bowling figure in IPL playoff history. In total, he has 23 wickets to his name. However, his economy of 10.06 still remains on the higher side.

Meanwhile, the report also threw out another interesting name. KKR are also interested in recent Under-19 ODI World Cup winner RS Ambrish, who is even part of Knight Riders’ camp right now as a net bowler. With 11 wickets, he was India’s joint-highest wicket-taker and showed incredible talent on the world stage. He is an able batter too, and don’t be surprised if KKR pick Ambrish instead. They are expected to announce the replacements soon enough.