Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) injury crisis deepens as they will be without pacer Akash Deep in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, according to a report on Cricbuzz. Just yesterday (March 20), KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar confirmed that they will be without the injured Harshit Rana, while Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana still awaits a NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), as reported by The CricHub ealier.
“Unfortunately, he [Akash Deep] is out of the IPL, ruled out for the season,” a KKR has been quoted saying by Cricbuzz.
The nature of Akash’s injury is yet to be known, but it is understood that he is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru. He has faced many injuries in the recent past, not allowing him to play a string of games in a row, be it for India or in the IPL. He turned up for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last season, playing just six matches, after having signed for them for INR eight crore.
In fact, he has played just 14 IPL matches since making his debut in 2022. The 29-year-old pacer was snapped up by KKR for INR one crore at the last auction.
With Akash and Harshit out, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi are the only Indian pacers at KKR’s disposal for the upcoming season. A replacement for the injured pacers is yet to be announced.
The three-time IPL champions begin their IPL 2026 campaign against five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29 (Sunday).
