Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the season due to an injury. KKR has announced his replacement for the upcoming season. A capped Indian pacer, who is Harshit’s teammate in domestic cricket, will take his place for a salary of Rs. 75 lakhs.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced Harshit Rana’s replacement for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) after the star pacer was ruled out of the season due to an injury. The 24-year-old suffered a knee injury during a warm-up game between India and South Africa before the T20 World Cup. The issue forced him to miss India’s victorious campaign in the mega event as he underwent surgery.
Another Capped Indian pacer in the form of Navdeep Saini will take his place for the 19th edition of the tournament, which will take place from March 28 to May 31.Saini will earn a salary of Rs. 75 lakhs, which was his base price at the 2026 IPL Auction, which took place in Abu Dhabi in December last year. The star pacer went unsold for the second season in a row. On the other hand, Rana is on a ₹4 crore per year contract with the three-time champions.
“Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have picked Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya respectively as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.Right-arm pacer Navdeep Saini has scalped 23 wickets in 32 IPL matches played so far, in addition to 23 wickets in international cricket for India. He will replace the injured Harshit and join KKR for INR 75 Lakh,” said a statement by the IPL.
Navdeep Saini’s IPL History
Saini has been part of the IPL since 2017, when he was signed by the Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs. 10 lakhs. However, he did not play a single game for them. The pacer joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2018 for a whopping deal of Rs. 3 crores. He made his IPL debut in 2019. He was part of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) from 2022 to 2024 for a salary of Rs. 2.60 crore. He had also gone unsold in the 2025 mega auction.
