Harshit Rana set to miss bulk of IPL 2026 with knee surgery

Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana is likely to miss a significant portion of IPL 2026 as he continues his recovery from knee surgery he sustained just before the start of the T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. 

As per reports, Rana underwent surgery in February after suffering a knee injury during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up game against South Africa. The youngster is currently undergoing rehabilitation, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team has not set a clear timeline for his return yet.

If he ends up missing the entire season, it will be another major setback for Rana, who had already been ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2026, a tournament India went on to win eventually. The report also mentioned that Rana picked up a ligament strain in his right knee after bowling just one over in the warm-up match. He was replaced in the squad by Mohammed Siraj, who featured in only one game during the tournament, against USA at the Wankheded Stadium, Mumbai.

Meanwhile, KKR will also be without Bangladeshi left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman for IPL 2026. The franchise was asked to release him due to geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh. As a replacement, they recently roped in Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, who recently pulled out of the PSL after signing with KKR.   

The three-time IPL winners still have several pace options in their squad, including Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Akash Deep, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi, along with all-rounders Cameron Green and Ramandeep Singh. There were earlier concerns around Pathirana’s fitness as well, after he missed the T20 World Cup due to a calf injury. However, at that time, it was expected that his IPL availability would not be affected.

KKR will kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium. They are also scheduled to face Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants at home in their upcoming fixtures.