Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler Harshit Rana was seen using crutches at the BCCI Naman Awards in Mumbai on Sunday, raising questions about his recovery as the player is set to miss the upcoming 2026 Indian Premier League season.Temper attended the BCCI awards ceremony but was unable to go on stage to collect the award for Best International Debut (Men’s). IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal instead presented the tribute to Rana after he walked the podium himself.A video of Rana walking with crutches went viral on social media, further fueling speculation about the extent of his injuries.Rana suffered a knee injury during the T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa earlier this year.The injury proved to be serious enough to rule him out of India’s World T20 campaign, with Mohammed Siraj called up as his replacement in the squad.The 24-year-old underwent an operation in Mumbai on February 9 but will not recover in time to play for KKR in the cash-rich league.
KKR’s injury woes
Rana played a key role in KKR’s title-winning campaign in 2024, returning with 19 wickets to help him become a regular for India across formats. Retained by the franchise for Rs 4 crore ahead of the 2025 season, he picked up 15 wickets in the 13 matches he played.The situation becomes more difficult for KKR as Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman is no longer part of the squad while Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is still dealing with fitness issues.The franchise has signed Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani as a fallback option to join the squad for the upcoming IPL season.Apart from Rana, the pace team currently includes Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi and Akash Deep. Without the young fast bowler, the unit could look a lot less experienced heading into IPL 2026.
