Three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced injured India pacer Akash Deep's replacement for the upcoming season. KKR have replaced the Bengal pacer with left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey at his base price of Rs 30 lakh.
"Akash Deep – a right-arm pacer, who has played 10 Tests for India, scalping 28 wickets – has been ruled out of the season due to a lumbar stress injury. He will be under the care of the BCCI Medical Team at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru for further management of his injury," a statement from IPL read.
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Who is Saurabh Dubey?
The Vidarbha pacer, who has represented the India Emerging team, has played just three recognised T20s. He made his T20 debut in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2023. From three T20s, he remained wicketless. He has a better List A record, claiming 16 wickets from eight appearances at an average of 23.31, featuring a four-fer.
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This is not the first time Dubey has been a part of an IPL franchise. In IPL 2022, he was a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, an injury ruled him out of action.
Pace battery takes a hit
KKR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium. Their fast-bowling lineup has taken a few hits with Harshit Rana ruled out of the season. There is no update on Matheesha Pathirana who got injured during ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
Meanwhile, KKR have roped in Zimbabwe's Blessing Muzarabani has replacement for Mustafizur Rahman. The other pacers in the squad are Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi.
KKR's full updated squad for IPL 2026
Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rahul Tripathi, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Cameron Green, Sunil Narine, Rachin Ravindra, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Daksh Kamra, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Tim Seifert, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Dubey, Blessing Muzarabani, Prashant Solanki.