Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckons the Kolkata Knight Riders are going to miss the services of Harshit Rana in IPL 2026. The lanky fast bowler was initially part of India’s T20 World Cup squad, but he was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury. Mohammed Siraj eventually replaced Rana in the T20I showpiece.
Rana suffered an injury in the warm-up match against South Africa and recently underwent surgery. Thus, the Delhi pacer is set to be ruled out of IPL 2026.
Meanwhile, Rana had scalped 19 wickets in 12 matches of IPL 2024 and had played an instrumental role in taking his franchise to glory.
Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Harshit Rana is the biggest miss out of all the names. He was a match-winner when KKR became champions in 2024. He got an Indian call-up because of doing well in the IPL. We saw he had a lot of variations, got swing with the new ball, and also had the dipping slower one and the yorker. KKR will miss such a skillful bowler.”
Kaif said Rana has had an up-and-down career so far. Rana faced a lot of flak after his Test debut against Australia, but made a solid comeback to the white-ball teams.
“His career has been full of ups and downs. He went to play Test matches and was criticized a lot. The comeback that he did after those criticisms, everyone praised him. Missing an improved fast bowler who is nearing his peak will be a huge loss,” added Kaif.
Meanwhile, Matheesha Pathirana also suffered a hamstring injury during the T20 World Cup 2026 after he was bought for a whopping amount of INR 18 crore in the mini auction.
Kaif concluded, “I can understand that KKR have spent a lot of money on Pathirana. They had a lot of expectations from him as his yorker would have been very useful at Eden Gardens in the death overs. He could have been a wicket-taker, but the biggest miss is an Indian fast bowler. He (Harshit) has become a much-improved fast bowler compared to last year, and is also on the path to becoming an all-rounder.”
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on 29th March.
