Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckons Kolkata Knight Riders will be forced to play Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani in the playing XI because of injury woes. KKR’s bowlers like Harshit Rana and Akash Deep have been ruled out of IPL 2026 due to respective injuries.

The lanky pacer from Zimbabwe had recently impressed in the T20 World Cup and played a key role in taking his team to the Super 8 stage. Muzarabani scalped 13 wickets in six innings at an economy rate of 7.88. The right-arm pacer earlier replaced Mustafizur Rahman in KKR’s squad.

Kaif picked Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, and Sunil Narine as the other three overseas players for KKR.

Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Seifert is a wicketkeeper and will play for sure. The other overseas players would be Cameron Green and Sunil Narine. So, they will be forced to bench Rovman Powell and Finn Allen for the first three or four matches. Powell has become a great finisher, and Allen recently hit a century on the same ground. But they will have to bring in Muzarabani as they don’t have enough bowlers.”

The former UP batter said KKR doesn’t have replacements for the main bowlers, which is a cause of concern ahead of IPL 2026.

“Muzarabani is not a finished product yet, but they don’t have enough bowlers now. Cameron Green is an all-rounder and will be a backup seamer; he won’t bowl the new ball. They have Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi, but their economy rates are on the higher side. They don’t have a replacement for the main bowlers who have gotten injured. They would back Muzarabani and hope he finds form. He is a good bowler, but is not a finished product.”

Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on 29th March.