Three-time Indian Premier League champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has brought in fast bowler Navdeep Saini as a replacement for injured fast bowler Harshit Rana for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. The franchise announced the decision on Wednesday, March 25.
Rana, who earlier missed the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 due to injury, is now out of the IPL as well. After careful consideration, the franchise opted to include Saini to strengthen their fast bowling attack. This development comes soon after KKR were forced to make another change, with Saurabh Dubey replacing the injured Akash Deep.
SainiWho first earned an IPL contract with Delhi Capitals in 2018 but did not feature in a single game that season, he made his mark with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019. He took 11 wickets in 13 matches that season and remained with the franchise for the next two editions. The speedster was later contracted by Rajasthan Royals, where he managed to play only four matches in two seasons before going unsold in the recent auction.
Overall, Saini has taken 23 IPL wickets and has also represented the Indian team in all three formats. When Saini was asked how it feels to be a part of the Knight Riders family, the fast bowler gave a humble response.
“The way we say Kolkata Knight Riders, if I have to explain it to a person, there is a certain feeling in it. So, as a Knight Rider I feel very good,” Saini said on Kolkata Knight Riders' social media platform.
View the announcement post here –
Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans (GT) also made a change in the team with Kulwant Khejroliya replacing Prithviraj Yara. Khejroliya, who made his IPL debut with RCB in 2018, later played for KKR in 2023 and played one game for GT last season.
KKR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. GT, on the other hand, are set to start their season against last year's runners-up Punjab Kings on March 31 in Mullanpur.
KKR updated the squad for IPL 2026
Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya RahaneManish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakraborty, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Mathisha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Daksh Kamra, Sarthak Ranjan, Blessing Muzarabani, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Saurabh Dubey and Navdeep Saini.
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