KKR Set to Sign Saurabh Dubey as Akash Deep’s Replacement Ahead of IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders are set to rope in left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey as a replacement for the injured Akash Deep ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026, according to ESPNCricinfo.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore confirmed the development during an intra-squad practice match in Kolkata.

Uncapped in the IPL, Dubey has gone wicketless in his three T20 appearances and has not featured in full-fledged competitive cricket at the senior level for nearly two and a half years.

However, the 28-year-old impressed in six outings in the Vidarbha Pro T20 League, where he picked up five wickets before his campaign was cut short by injury.

He has also worked as a net bowler for the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Dubey had earlier risen to prominence after finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 edition of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

How did Saurabh Dubey impress KKR coaches during the trial camp?

KKR conducted trials alongside their IPL training camp in Kolkata in search of a replacement for Akash Deep, and potentially for Harshit Rana.

Among those who featured in the trials were Navdeep Saini, KM Asif, Simarjeet Singh, Akash Madhwal and Sandeep Warrier.

"Head coach Abhishek Nayar has done a great job lining up the potential options and bringing them over so that the coaches can see, be part of our training and practice games," Mysore said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

"The coaches were excited, called up and said, 'this is who we would like to take as Akash Deep's replacement,'" he said.

When will Matheesha Pathirana be available to join KKR’s IPL 2026 campaign?

Mysore also expressed caution over the fitness of marquee signing Matheesha Pathirana, who is yet to join the camp due to an injury sustained during the ICC T20 World Cup.

Head coach Abhishek Nayar had recently indicated that the Sri Lankan pacer is expected to be available from mid-April.

"We've been constantly in touch with him and in touch with the board [SLC]," Mysore said.

"We want to do the right thing by the player. There is no intention on anyone's part to rush this. All of these things take their time. Hopefully, fingers crossed, it won't be too long," he added.

Dubey is set to join a pace unit comprising Pathirana, Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi and Umran Malik, with all-rounder Cameron Green providing an additional pace option.

In the absence of Mustafizur Rahman, who was released from the squad last year on instructions of the BCCI in light of atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and recent injuries, KKR’s pace attack appears heavily depleted ahead of their campaign opener on March 29.

(With inputs from ANI)