Harshit Rana won’t be able to play in the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League that will begin from the 28th of March due to a knee injury that he suffered during a warm-up match against South Africa ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The 24-year-old also underwent knee surgery in February. Due to this injury, Rana couldn’t play the 2026 T20 World Cup that was co-hosted by India & Sri Lanka.

Rana’s rehabilitation is in progress, while the BCCI medical team hasn’t confirmed when the Delhi pacer will return. Rana plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and his absence might affect the balance of the team, especially in the pace department. Rana was recently awarded the Best International Debutant award at the ICC awards.

Due to the knee injury, Rana had to be replaced by Mohammed Siraj in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, who played just one match in the entire tournament. KKR recently terminated the contract of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahim due to ongoing political tensions between India and Bangladesh. KKR recently signed Zimbabwean pacer Blessing Muzarabani.

Rana’s absence is a big loss for KKR’s pace department. Currently, KKR’s pace department consists of Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Akash Deep, and Kartik Tyagi. The team also consists of fast bowling all-rounders, Cameron Green and Ramandeep Singh.

There were also concerns about whether Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana would be able to play the tournament after he suffered a calf strain during the 2026 T20 World Cup. Still, KKR's management is confident the pacer will make a comeback in the latter part of the tournament.

KKR play their first game of the 19th edition against the Mumbai Indians on the 29th of March at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.