Kolkata Knight Riders will kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Despite a strong bowling effort from Varun Chakravarthy — who took 17 wickets in IPL 2025 — KKR endured a disappointing title defence overall, finishing 8th on the points table. With three IPL titles already to their name, the franchise is aiming to add a fourth this season.
KKR Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuwanshi, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Blessing Muzarabani, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep
Probable Playing XI (vs MI, March 29): Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuwanshi, Tim Seifert (WK), Ajinkya Rahane (C), Rinku Singh, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Akash Deep, Umran Malik Impact Player: Vaibhav Arora / Blessing Muzarabani
Injury Update: KKR’s key pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2026 season after suffering a knee ligament injury during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa. The franchise is currently holding trials for his replacement, with KM Asif, Sandeep Warrier, and Simarjeet Singh among the pacers being assessed. Sri Lankan quick Matheesha Pathirana is also unavailable for the early phase of the tournament, with the KKR coaching staff confirming he is expected to return only around mid-April after completing rehabilitation from a calf strain. KKR have opted not to sign a formal replacement for Pathirana, with the BCCI allowing franchises to make injury replacements up until the 12th match of the tournament.
The inclusion of Cameron Green — signed for a record-breaking ₹25.20 crore, making him the most expensive overseas player in IPL auction history — underlines KKR’s ambition to win a fourth title. He is expected to fill the all-rounder role vacated by the retired Andre Russell. New Zealand openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen arrive in rich form from the T20 World Cup, where Seifert scored 326 runs across eight innings and Allen struck a historic century against South Africa in the semi-final. With Pathirana unavailable for the opener against Mumbai, KKR’s pace attack will rely on Vaibhav Arora, Akash Deep, Umran Malik, and the in-form Blessing Muzarabani. The team has also been releasing practice session videos featuring several domestic players, signalling a well-prepared and motivated squad as they look to start the season strongly.