Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) find themselves in a huge fix ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). There seems to be no end to their woes when it comes to the pace department. But amidst all the chaos, Umran Malik perhaps has the best chance to shine. Not only to make a name for himself in the franchise but also try and push for a comeback to the Indian T20I setup.

Malik’s career has been riddled with injuries, which has forced him to be more on the sidelines than in action. Once a part of the Indian team and SRH after showing promising signs of a lethal pacer from Jammu and Kashmir, Umran has spent majority of his time recovering at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the last two comes. Come this IPL 2026, the pacer is presented with a golden opportunity to not only stand out but also lead KKR’s pace attack.

Pace bowling woes bane for KKR, boon for Umran Malik

Umran Malik made his IPL debut way back in 2021 and was a part of SRH for 4 seasons where he played 26 matches and picked up 29 wickets. However, he managed to play only one full season – in 2022. Malik warmed the bench throughout IPL 2025 despite being bought by KKR for Rs 75 lakh – largely due to injury concerns. His injury-prone nature saw him take several months to recover, and now he is fully fit to take part in IPL 2026.

KKR are in a huge mess at the moment. Harshit Rana has been ruled out of majority of the IPL 2026 as he underwent a knee surgery recently. Matheesha Pathirana is yet to undergo a fitness test that was mandated by the Sri Lanka Cricket in order to get a NOC to play for KKR. As a result, he will only join the team by mid-April. Akash Deep has been ruled out due to a back injury. Vaibhav Arora is the only other reliable pacer for KKR at present. And this is where Umran can make his mark.

Umran was last seen in action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy following which he was left out of the Ranji Trophy-winning Jammu and Kashmir side in phase 2. In international cricket, he last played a T20I way back in 2023. Now that KKR don’t have many reliable Indian bowlers, Malik has a golden chance to lead the pack.

At present, KKR’s pace department comprises of Blessing Muzarabani, Umran and Arora, with Karthik Tyagi likely to serve as a back-up. Umran has taken notes from his previous injuries and has vowed to slow down this year, which means chances of him picking up another injury could reduce significantly. Therefore, a good season will automatically put Malik back in the reckoning for T20Is.

“I have to go by the game plan and what the coach (Abhishek Nayar) and captain (Ajinkya Rahane) say. Yes, pace is my weapon, which is something I’ll definitely use and fall back on. But with it, I will have to look at the other aspects too, like variations. From that perspective, the slower delivery carries importance for every bowler, I believe, especially in today’s times, the slower is the main delivery,” Uman told The Telegraph.