KKR selected Blessing Muzarabani as the replacement bowler for the upcoming season; However, former Indian player Aakash Chopra believes that he will not have much advantage in the competition.
Kolkata Knight Riders were struggling with their poor form in the last edition of IPL. However, their bowling deck included all the cards from their victorious 2024 season except Mitchell Starc. Despite this, he remained eighth in the points table.
Kolkata Knight Riders is eager to compensate for every weak link in the team. He chose new opening batsmen like Finn Allen and Tim Seifert. They released Andre Russell and took a big gamble to get future options like Cameron Green and Mathisha Pathirana.
Aakash Chopra downplays Blessing Muzarabani’s importance for KKR
KKR has not yet announced Harshit Rana’s replacement. When a user questioned Aakash Chopra over his comments on who the Knight Riders should appoint as his replacement, the former star said:
“Even I thought they would pick someone as his replacement, but it seems they are not willing to do that. I don’t know. They don’t have much choice either.”
He then claimed that despite the fact that Blessing Muzarabani had a great World Cup, he would not be equally effective in the IPL in Indian conditions. Muzarabani took 13 wickets in 6 innings and bowled most of the games in Sri Lanka.
Aakash Chopra said, “I don’t have much hope that he will be able to repeat his excellent T20 World Cup form in the IPL. But this is what I think; maybe I am wrong, and then I will be the first one to raise my hand and admit my mistake.”
“But the lengths around which he bowls most of his bowling, the type of pitches in India, I am not 100% sure about his impact. It still works in the powerplay with the new ball, but not in the deaths. And with the absence of Pathirana and Harshit, he may have to bowl an over or two in the death overs,” he said.
Sir @cricketaakash Answering my question that I asked. Should KKR find a replacement for Harshit? And who should be the replacement?
KKR probably will not take Harshit’s replacement pic.twitter.com/jcaPilQ6H2– Venky Mama (@venkymama100) 20 March 2026
Simarjit Singh can be selected in place of Harshit Rana
Kolkata Knight Riders are severely lacking options in the bowling deck. Firstly, he did not choose many well-known names in his Indian bowling deck and largely relied on foreign players like Mathisha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman.
Following the controversy, Mustafizur was barred from participating in the IPL; On the other hand, Mathisha Pathirana injured himself in three matches in the T20 World Cup 2026. Since then, the player has been undergoing rehab in Sri Lanka.
Latest reports have revealed that Pathirana will not be available for the first quarter of the tournament. Indian fast bowler Harshit Rana, who was their main pace bowler last season, has also been ruled out due to injury.
KKR has tried many options as replacement. They conducted the bowling test and as per media reports, former CSK fast bowler Simarjeet Singh is currently the frontrunner for the post.
Probable playing 12 of Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders have made Ajinkya Rahane the captain for this season also. Finn Allen can open with experienced star Sunil Narine. Australian all-rounder Cameron Green can be selected at no. 3.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane can either be promoted above Green or demoted after him. Allen is not an ideal choice for wicketkeeping; So, in his presence, KKR might need Tejasvi Singh in the middle order.
They also have players like Rahul Tripathi and Manish Pandey, but Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s place in the team will be under major threat. The youngster, who has supported KKR through tough times, was seen keeping wickets for Mumbai in this domestic season, and he may take the gloves to secure his place in the team.
Rinku Singh and Rovman Powell can be KKR’s strength in the lower order along with Ramandeep Singh. While Varun Chakravarthy is the team’s second spinner, two fast bowlers should be of Indian origin, including Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik and Akash Deep.
Also Read: “Hopefully somewhere in mid-April”: Abhishek Nair provides official update on Mathisha Pathirana’s availability for IPL 2026