IPL 2026 Replacements: Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) list of injured players is growing as star pacer Akash Deep has been ruled out of the entire season.

The news deepened KKR’s injury worries as the team’s star pacer, Harshit Rana, is also likely to take no part in the tournament.

Deep has been ruled out of the tournament with a lumbar stress injury. He will remain under the supervision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

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“Akash Deep – a right-arm pacer, who has played 10 Tests for India, scalping 28 wickets – has been ruled out of the season due to a lumbar stress injury. He will be under the care of the BCCI Medical Team at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru for further management of his injury,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

Saurabh, a left-arm pacer, will replace Akash at KKR. He will join KKR for INR 30 Lakh. Saurabh is yet to make his IPL debut, but was previously part of the SRH squad.

On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad also dealt with a big blow as Australia's Jack Edwards was ruled out of this season due to a foot injury.

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England pacer David Payne was signed by SRH as a replacement. Edwards had earlier been picked up by SRH for Rs 3 crore following a bidding contest with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Payne, who has played in one ODI for England and featured in 233 T20 matches, claiming 304 wickets, will join SRH for Rs 1.5 crore.

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