New Delhi:On Wednesday, March 25, the Kolkata Knight Riders announced Navdeep Saini as Harshit Ranas' injury replacement. Kulwant Khejroliya has been named by GT as Prithviraj Yarri's replacement.
The IPL body released a statement saying, "Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have selected Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya, respectively, as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026."
In addition to taking 23 wickets for India in international cricket, right-arm pacer Navdeep Saini has already claimed 23 wickets in 32 IPL games. For INR 75 lakh, he will join KKR in place of the injured Harshit. In the meantime, Khejroliya takes Prithviraj Yarra's place in GT due to injury. With six IPL wickets under his belt, the left-arm pacer has played for GT, KKR, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). For INR 30 lakh, he will join GT," the statement continued.
Due to a knee injury, Harshit Rana had surgery.Rana was only able to bowl one over in a warm-up match against South Africa before the T20 World Cup due to a ligament strain in his right knee. Mohammed Siraj took his place for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Rana has been ruled out of the 2026 Indian Premier League due to his subsequent knee surgery and ongoing rehabilitation.
Kulwant Khejroliya rejoins GTHowever, in order to replace the injured Prithviraj Yarra, the Gujarat Titans have added left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya to their roster. Khejroliya, who has played for GT, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has claimed six wickets in the IPL. For ?30 lakh, he has been signed.
Teams are worried about the growing number of injuries, even before IPL 2026 starts. In this case, the replacement players will have a lot of pressure to meet expectations. It will be interesting to see how well Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya do with the ball and how useful they are.
KKR will start their campaign on March 29, and GT will join in on March 30.The Kolkata Knight Riders will start their IPL 2026 season on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium against the Mumbai Indians. Next, they will play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 3, and then they will play the Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on April 6 at the Eden Gardens. On April 10, KKR will play the Chennai Super Kings at Eden Gardens. On April 14, they will play the Delhi Capitals at the Stadium. They want to get off to a good start in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans will begin their IPL 2026 campaign on March 30 against the Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium. On April 3, they will play the Punjab Kings at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. On April 7, they will play the Sunrisers Hyderabad at home at the Narendra Modi Stadium. In an attempt to get off to a great start in their IPL 2026 season, GT will next play the Rajasthan Royals on April 11 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur before returning home to play the Delhi Capitals on April 15.