KKR will replace Akash Deep with Vidarbha's fast bowler Surabh Dubey

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will rope in Vidarbha's left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey as a replacement for Akash Deep for IPL 2026. The announcement was made by KKR CEO Venky Mysore during an intra-squad practice match in Kolkata.

Dubey has not played a single IPL match so far and has played just 11 matches at the senior level. He has not played competitive cricket for the last two and a half years. He last represented Vidarbha in a T20 match in 2023. However, he impressed with his performance in the Vidarbha Pro T20 League, playing for the Orange Tigers, last year. He was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2022 but was ruled out due to an injury. He has also been a net bowler for Mumbai Indians.

The 28-year-old Dubey first caught attention during the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, where he was the leading wicket-taker.

KKR have been conducting trials for the last one week and were also looking for a potential replacement for Hrithik Rana apart from Akash Deep. Other bowlers who participated in the trials included Nideep Saini, KM Asif, Samarjeet Singh, Akash Madhwal, and Sandeep Warrier.

Mysore said, "Head coach Abhishek Nayar has done a great job in finding potential replacements so that the coaches can have a look at them and be a part of our training and practice matches. Definitely, Vidarbha pacer Saurabh Dubey caught everyone's attention. The coaches were very enthusiastic and said, 'He is the kind of player we would like to have in our team to replace Akash Deep.'"

Regarding the initially ruled-out Matheesha Pathirana, Mysore said he hopes the pacer will be able to participate. KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar had recently said that Pathirana would be available by mid-April. Pathirana was injured during the T20 World Cup.

Mysore said, "We are in constant touch with him and the board (SLC). We don't want to rush things; these things take time. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long."

Akash Deep was ruled out of IPL 2026 last week due to a lower back injury. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Center of Excellence and is likely to take around three months to recover fully. Rana is struggling with a knee injury.

Dubey will join the fast-bowling attack that includes Pathirana, Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, and Umran Malik. The team also has Cameron Green as a fast-bowling all-rounder.