New Delhi, March 23: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has faced another setback ahead of the IPL 2026 season as Akash Deep has been ruled out. In his place, KKR has signed Saurabh Dubey, who was previously part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.
Saurabh was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹20 lakh during the IPL 2022 auction, but he did not get a chance to debut in the league. For the IPL 2026 auction, he set his base price at ₹30 lakh, but no team showed interest in acquiring him. According to reports, Saurabh has already been training with the KKR squad. The left-arm fast bowler plays domestic cricket for Vidarbha.
So far, Saurabh has played 8 List-A matches, taking 16 wickets, and has also participated in 3 T20 matches. He was part of the Indian team during the ACC Emerging Asia Cup in 2019, where he made an impressive debut in List-A cricket against Nepal, claiming four wickets for just 26 runs and earning the Player of the Tournament title with a total of 7 wickets in the tournament.
KKR’s fast bowling attack appears to be significantly weakened this season, with reports confirming that Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are out of the tournament. Additionally, Matheesa Pathirana will not be available for the initial matches. The injuries have left KKR in a challenging situation, especially after a disappointing performance in IPL 2025 under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, where the team managed to win only 5 out of 14 matches.
On a positive note, the inclusion of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, and Cameron Green has strengthened KKR’s batting order this season. Allen scored a century off just 33 balls in the T20 World Cup 2026, while Seifert is also in good form. Following the departure of Andre Russell, KKR has added Rovman Powell as another powerful Caribbean finisher to their lineup.