Saurabh Dubey, a left-arm fast bowler from Wardha, is set to replace injured Akash Deep in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Akash was ruled out of the upcoming IPL season due to lower-back stress injury.
Dubey's inclusion in the KKR squad was made by the team CEO Venky Mysore after an intra-squad practice match in Kolkata, ESPNCricinfo reported.
"Head coach Abhishek Nayar has done a great job lining up the potential options and bringing them over so that the coaches can see, be part of our training and practice games. Definitely the one who has caught everyone's eyes is Saurabh Dubey, Vidarbha left-arm seamer, tall," Mysore said.
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Dubey has seen limited senior-level action in recent times. His last professional appearance came in 2023, when he turned out for Vidarbha against Bengal in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match. His senior-level experience includes eight List A matches and three three T20s. While he has picked 18 List A wickets, he is yet to claim a wicket in the T20s.
KKR are dealing with a shortage of fast bowlers as pace spearheads Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana are also not available. While Indian quick Rana is set to miss the entire season, Sri Lankan slinger Pathirana is expected to miss parts of the first half of the tournament.
"We've been constantly in touch with him and in touch with the board [SLC], we want to do the right thing by the player. There is no intention on anyone's part to rush this. All of these things take their time. Hopefully, fingers crossed, it won't be too long," Mysore said on Pathirana's inclusion in the squad.
The team signed Zimbabwe's Blessing Muzarabani to fill the void left by the exclusion of Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman.
The 2024 champions will once again be led by Ajinkya Rahane. They begin their campaign on March 29 in a match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Their next three matches will be at at the Eden Gardens where they will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Supergiants on April 2, April 6 and April 9 respectively.
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