Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won thejr third title in 2024 under Shreyas Iyer but ended up 8th on the points table in the next season of 2025. Going into IPL 2026 these players could be a burden to the side.
KKR picked Ajinkya Rahane, the veteran batter as their captain in 2025 after Shreyas Iyer was released. Despite a poor season, they have planned to stick to the Mumbai star as their captain. They also have a new coaching panel with Abhishek Nayar and Shane Watson holding key roles.
Ajinkya Rahane’s side would be in deep trouble in this IPL due to their unlucky fate. Most of their frontline pace bowling options have been ruled out of the contest. Harshit Rana and Akash Deep have been ruled out of the contest while Pathirana will miss the entire first half of the tournament.
Your daily dose of cricket!
3 players who are KKR’s biggest burden in IPL 2026
Ajinkya Rahane
KKR will be eyeing their maiden trophy under Ajinkya Rahane, but the skipper himself seems a little unfit in the side, who have several top-order players who are younger and bring in some dynamic ability to excel in T20 cricket.
Kolkata already have several big names associated with the top order. They are likely to open with Finn Allen and Sunil Narine, while Cameron Green is likely to be slotted in at no. 3. Rahane has always struggled in the middle order, especially against spinners during the middle overs.
Rahane did not have a poor season in domestic T20s as he featured in SMAT games for Mumbai. The veteran batter scored 391 runs at a promising average of 48.87 and a strike rate of nearly 168. Despite form, his batting role will be a burden for the KKR management.
Umran Malik
Jammu & Kashmir pacer Umran Malik rose to prominence in the IPL with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, but then failed to hold on to his promising form. Malik’s pace is his biggest strength as well as his weakness.
Coming from the Northernmost part of India, Umran Malik did not play the majority of the domestic season for his domestic team, J&K. Umran featured in a game in the Buchi Babu tournament and one in the Ranji Trophy, where he picked 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
In SMAT 2025-26, he played only a handful of matches and returned with 6 wickets, which doesn’t seem very promising after a 17-month-long drought. He was ruled out of the previous IPL, and now would be among KKR’s frontline pacers in 2026, which will be a massive burden for them in the absence of players like Harshit and Akash Deep.
Matheesha Pathirana
This would inarguably be KKR’s biggest burden going into the 2026 IPL. They revamped their squad and bought the Lankan pacer for a massive INR 18 crores in the mini-auction. However, in the very first season, Pathirana was surrounded by a massive injury scare.
The Lankan pacer has been injured since the T20 World Cup and has been ruled out. The SLC has not even issued a NOC to the cricketer and would issue one only after he is cleared of all Tests. Pathirana would not be available until the second half of the IPL.
After such a massive investment, KKR would have considered him to lead the pace attack, but this would be disappointing for the Knight Riders.
