Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Dwayne Bravo remained optimistic despite the franchise facing a major setback
The main bowlers Matheesha Pathirana and Harshit Rana are injured before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. According to ESPNcricinfo, the depth in fast-bowling in India, including the likes of Vaibhav Arora and Umran Malik, as well as the spin options for India are reasons why the Indians can do without their key pacers. In a pre-season press conference for KKR, head coach Abhishek Nayar revealed that due to a calf strain, Pathirana will miss the beginning of the IPL and will only be able to take the field from mid-April. He also referenced Harshit Rana’s injury and KKR currently assessing other bowlers with the leadership group for a potential replacement, throwing into question his participation in the tournament.
Notably, the franchise will also miss Bangladesh left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman after he was released following instructions from the BCCI earlier this year.
Speaking at KKR’s pre-season press conference, Dwayne Bravo said that although losing key bowlers is a setback, it is an acceptable reality for teams. He pointed to the bench strength in India and said that Kolkata Knight Riders are looking at some experienced but still young pacers like Umran Malik, stating that he is confident and excited to work with the fast-bowling group at his disposal.
In any tournament with any team, once you lose some of the key bowling options, it is something that is unplanned but also accepted. The good thing about Indian cricket especially at the moment is that there is a lot of depth, Bravo said.
So there are some guys, as the coach mentioned, that we are definitely looking at to fill the spot- the likes of Umran Malik. These guys are players who also have represented the national team at some point of time and have played in the IPL before as well. They are young, exciting players. So, for me personally, I’m happy to work with this group of fast bowlers,” Bravo added.
Bravo expressed confidence in KKR’s bowling unit, stating that it had a strong spin attack and lauded the recent performances of Vaibhav Arora. Lastly, he added that the team does not have a weakness as losing their best players can be compensated for with the depth of the squad they have.
We have got the best spin attack in the entire competition, so from bowling point of view I think we are going to be fine. Also, there is Vaibhav whom I can’t forget due to the fantastic season he had last year. And he has been the leader of the attack for the last couple of seasons too. So, I mean, we have lost some key players, but then, I have some comfort in the fact that we will be able to replace those guys, he said.
Apart from Umran and Vaibhav, KKR also have Akash Deep and Kartik Tyagi, along with Blessing Muzarabani. In the spin department, KKR will have Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy leading the attack.
KKR are to play their first match of the IPL 2026 season against the Mumbai Indians on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The three-time champions will then face the Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2, also at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, before facing last year’s finalists, Punjab Kings on April 6.
Their fourth IPL fixture is against Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens on 9 April.
