The left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Dubey has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Akash Deep for the upcoming IPL 2026 season.
Earlier, Akash was ruled out of the tournament due to a stress injury in his lower back. Dubey was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2022 season, but his stint was cut short due to a back injury.
“Yes, Saurabh Dubey has been signed by KKR as a replacement for Akash Deep for the upcoming season. Dubey was a net bowler for KKR and was practising with them at Eden Gardens and in their camp in Mumbai, but he will now be in the main squad,” said a statement from Franchise.
Speaking on Saurabh Dubey, Subroto Banerjee said, “He is a very talented left-arm fast bowler. I remember him touring Bangladesh under Rahul Dravid as part of the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup squad. He gets extra bounce off the wicket and can swing the ball both ways. It’s a good call by the Knight Riders management.”
Saurabh Dubey went unsold during the IPL 2026 auction where he registered with a base price of INR 30 lakhs.
Dubey’s last appearance comes for Vidarbha in 2023-24 season in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and has also represented the state in four games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in the 2020-21 season.
However, the KKR has not taken the call on a replacement for Harshit Rana, who is also ruled out of the season.
On the other hand, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed all franchises that it will take three to four days to announce the remainder of the IPL 2026 schedule.
While the fixtures for the first 20 games have been released, the timeline for the remaining games is yet to be finalised.
As per the IPL 2026 schedule, KKR will play their opener match agianst Mumbai Indians on March 29 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
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