New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has announced the replacement for injured Harshit Rana who was ruled out of the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Fast bowler Navdeep Saini has been roped in as his replacement in the KKR squad for the upcoming 19th edition of the cash-rich league which starts on March 28.

Both Saini and Rana have played for India and represent Delhi in domestic cricket. Rana, who was expected to join the squad after his knee surgery, was finally ruled out as he failed to attain full fitness for the tournament. Three-time winners Knight Riders issued a statement, jointly with Gujarat Titans (GT) who roped in Kulwant Khejroliya in place of Prithviraj Yarra in the squad.

Navdeep Saini has replaced Harshit Rana in KKR for IPL 2026. pic.twitter.com/XAqKA7ONjO

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)

‘Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have picked Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya respectively as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026,’ said the IPL in a statement.

As far as Saini is concerned, the pacer has scalped 23 wickets in 32 IPL matches played so far, which is in addition to the 23 wickets he has claimed in international cricket for India. The bowler joins the Knight Riders squad for Rs 75 lakh.

Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Khejroliya, who has six IPL wickets to his name, has previously featured for GT, KKR, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He will join GT for INR 30 Lakh, added the IPL statement.

Earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders acquired Saurabh Dubey as a replacement for the injured Akash Deep for the IPL 2026 season, who was the second one to get ruled out of the entire edition. The left-arm pace bowler will join the three-time IPL champions for Rs 30 lakh.