Retired Hurt: Injuries could decide the 2026 edition of IPL

THE IPL teams are in the final phase of preparation. In all this, what can decide the tournament for some teams are the injuries they have had to deal with. Team balance has been impacted and it will be a humongous task to make up for the absence of some of these players.

Take KKR, for example. At the start of the season, KKR looks severely dented. First, it was the case of Mustafizur Rahman (Fizz). Fizz had to be released and Blessing Muzarabani, an able replacement, drafted in. While Blessing has been in good form and should be able to use the Eden bounce, the truth also is KKR will miss Fizz’s experience in crunch situations. His cutters are a hugely effective weapon and Blessing, when put under pressure, hasn’t really done much to inspire confidence.

The bigger blow is however Harshit Rana. Rana

is a much improved bowler in white-ball cricket. He is also a more than able batter lower down the order. His absence will be acutely felt by KKR. The final casualty is Akash Deep. On home turf, Akash could have been a good replacement for Rana and he too can hit a few blows with the bat. Now, it will be interesting to see how Abhishek Nayar solves the injury puzzle.

Chennai, too, has been dealt a serious blow by the absence of Nathan Ellis. A key wicket-taker, Ellis was a first choice starter for Chennai and his absence could be a tough one to overcome. If you see the money spent on some of these players at the auction, you will know how the teams had made plans around them.

If it’s Ellis for CSK, it is Hazlewood for RCB. His absence is a huge blow. If I have to single out one player who made the biggest difference to the RCB title-winning campaign in 2025, it has to be Hazlewood. He has been bowling like a dream in white-ball cricket, and I remember Abhishek Sharma saying in Australia that he hasn’t seen anyone bowl as good at the start of an innings. With Yash Dayal likely to miss out, RCB will find it hard to make up for the loss of Hazlewood. Jacob Duffy is a good bowler but surely not Hazlewood and will be tested in the good batting decks at the Chinnaswamy.

Adding to the list of the Australians who aren’t available at the start of the season are Cummins and Starc. Cummins is also the captain of his franchise and SRH will miss his leadership. While it comes as a major opportunity for Ishan Kishan, the truth also is

SRH would have preferred Ishan, the batter, rather

than having to invest leadership responsibility

in him. Under pressure, Cummins is a class act and his pedigree as captain is irreplaceable. SRH will hope that Cummins becomes available as the season goes on for even if he is there in the second-half of the tournament, it could tilt the scales in favour of the Sunrisers.

Coming to Starc, he is one of the best-ever and DC will struggle to find an able replacement. Starc’s delivery to get rid of Abhishek Sharma in the 2024 final is for me the ball of the IPL, and Starc at the death is comparable only to Bumrah. Axar will feel his absence.

The final injury casualty I’d like to speak about

is Wanindu Hasaranga. He was a smart pick

for Lucknow and could have been the middle order all-rounder they were after. Lucknow has a very good pace-bowling department, while the spin isn’t as good. That’s where Hasaranga was important. In his absence, Shahbaz, a very good talent, will have to step up for LSG.

Each one of these injuries could impact the season for these franchises and it will now be on the management to draw up plan B. Whether or not they are able to do so will make the start of the season extremely interesting.