Kolkata Knight Riders Hit by Fresh Injury Blow as Akash Deep Likely Out of Season
Kolkata Knight Riders have been dealt another injury blow ahead of the upcoming season, with Indian pacer Akash Deep likely to be ruled out due to a lower-back stress injury.
The 29-year-old has not yet recovered fully and is expected to require three months to regain match fitness following rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
His last competitive outing came in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 for Bengal against Jammu and Kashmir in mid-February.
Akash Deep had enjoyed a productive domestic season, claiming 22 wickets in six matches at an average of 27.13, including one four-wicket haul and a five-wicket haul.
He is also understood to be dealing with a left heel injury. The pacer was picked by KKR at his base price of ₹1 crore at last year’s mini-auction in Abu Dhabi.
How stretched is Kolkata Knight Riders pace attack despite Blessing Muzarabani inclusion?
Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is also set to miss at least the first half of the tournament.
Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that he is yet to complete the mandatory physical performance test required to obtain a No Objection Certificate.
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KKR have already brought in Blessing Muzarabani as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, but their pace resources appear stretched.
The absence of Pathirana, who was bought for ₹18 crore last season, removes considerable international experience from the attack.
The responsibility is likely to fall on Vaibhav Arora, who has formed a strong partnership with Harshit in recent seasons, alongside Muzarabani.
The squad also includes young pacers Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi, while several others are currently undergoing trials as the franchise looks to rebuild its depleted bowling unit.
Cameron Green remains an additional seam-bowling all-round option, though the Australian is injury-prone and may require careful workload management.
KKR are now expected to explore replacement options to strengthen their pace attack ahead of the season.
(With inputs from ANI)