Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Navdeep Saini talks about his injury struggles after his comeback in IPL 2026.
He has been picked by KKR as a replacement for their pacer Harshit Rana, who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
Having been known as one of the fastest pacers in the country at one point, Navdeep Saini has gone through a lot of injury setbacks which hampered his career. He made his debut in the IPL in 2019 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and took 11 wickets in 13 matches. After that, he got his international cap in T20Is and ODIs.
KKR pacer has also played the red-ball format for India and was part of the historic BGT series win against Australia in 2021. He made his debut in that series only and since then hasn’t featured. He has faced multiple injury setbacks over his career, including a significant right shoulder dislocation in 2024.
In a recent interview with Cricbuzz, Saini said that young fast bowlers should focus more on bowling rather than spending too much time in the gym. According to him, the balance should be more towards bowling than training.
“Nowadays, people feel that gymming is the way to make you bowl fast. It doesn’t work like that. The more you bowl, the more you’ll train and habituate your bowling muscles,” Saini said.
He also spoke about pace and fitness, saying that natural talent can help a bowler reach speeds of around 140 kmph, but going beyond that needs a lot of hard work.
“You can bowl till 140-142kph with natural skill… but the route to 150kph, the last 7-10kph, takes a lot of hard work. I knew from the start what I had to sacrifice to achieve my dreams,” he added.
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Last seen in IPL 2023, Navdeep Saini has found a way to return to the IPL after going through injuries and setbacks. He was called by KKR last year, and this time he has been picked by the management. He was also given a chance to play recently against Punjab Kings as Varun Chakravarthy was injured, but unfortunately, the match was abandoned due to rain.
With a lack of experienced pacers in the KKR lineup, Saini, who is now 33, will also play the role of a senior bowler for players like Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi, who are fast bowlers like him.
Saini will be hoping to get more opportunities this season as he still has a point to prove and is aiming for a comeback to the Indian team. He said that he is doing everything possible for an India return and wants to move step by step rather than rushing things.
“I am doing everything for that (India cap). But I can’t leap to the fifth floor directly. I’ll take it step-by-step,” he said.
In his international career, he has played 2 Tests, where he has picked up 4 wickets, 6 wickets in 8 ODIs, and 13 wickets in 11 T20Is.
In the IPL, since his debut in 2019, he has played only 33 matches and has taken 23 wickets for teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals.
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