Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have roped in left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey as the replacement of Akashdeep ahead of IPL 2026. The moves comes at a very crucial point and just ahead of the season’s start as mentioned in a report by Cricbuzz.
There have been growing concerns in KKR’s pace department and it was further worsened by the absence of Harshit Rana. Now KKR have been forced to explore domestic talent and restore the lost balance in their squad.
Saurabh Dubey is 28-year old left-arm seamer from Vidarbha and he is yet to make his IPL debut. He has previously been a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad but he did not get an opportunity to play and this time it looks like things might work in his favour.
Also Read: Can Punjab Kings win IPL 2026? Former India cricketer makes bold prediction
Former selector Suboroto Banerjee also backed Dubey and mentioned that he has a great ability to generate bounce and movement. Earlier Dubey had gone unsold in the mini-auction but he remained in the replacement pool at the base price of INR 30 lakh.
Also Read: MI or CSK? Irfan Pathan gives final verdict on IPL’s greatest team
“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,” Banerjee said.
