With IPL 2026 set to begin on March 26, there is a lot of discussion around the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling department. The big question on everyone’s mind is will Harshit Rana be fit for IPL 2026?
The Indian fast bowler picked up an injury right before the start of the T20 World Cup 2026. Although part of the initial squad, he eventually was ruled out of the ICC event with Mohammed Siraj being named as a replacement. With these setbacks and his recovery, will Harshit Rana play IPL 2026?
Last updated: Feb 18, 2026
The Harshit Rana injury update came during India’s warm-up game against South Africa prior to the start of the T20 World Cup 2026. He was spotted limping off the field after the fifth over of the Proteas innings. He bowled only a solitary over, where he pulled out of his run-up twice before eventually finishing the set.
Rana, who has been a regular member of the Indian cricket team, was thus ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2026 due to a knee injury. He has however, now successfully undergone surgery and will now need to undergo rehabilitation to get back to match fitness.
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There’s no timeline set for his return but the expected recovery time for a knee surgery is between three and five months. But that can change, and Harshit might take more time to recover than initially expected. Former India cricketer and ex-KKR player Aakash Chopra has also hinted that the star pacer is unlikely to be fit on time.
As things stand, Harshit Rana return date is not known yet.
3 Players KKR Can Sign If Harshit Rana Is Not Available for IPL 2026
If Harshit Rana is not fit for IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders will need to find a pacer as replacement to fill the void.
They have Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Kartik and Akash Deep amongst Indian options but Akash Deep has disappointing IPL numbers whereas Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi barely participated in the last two editions.
The KKR pace department is further depleted with injury to Matheesha Pathirana along with Mustafizur Rahman’s exit and they may have to look in the market for a replacement option to bolster the fast bowling battery.
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