Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Saurabh Dubey, a left-arm seamer from Vidarbha, as Akash Deep’s replacement for IPL 2026. KKR CEO Venky Mysore confirmed the move during an intra-squad practice match in Kolkata.
The 28-year-old is uncapped in the IPL and hasn’t played competitive cricket in nearly two-and-a-half years. Still, he impressed KKR’s coaching staff enough during trials to earn a spot in a pace attack that’s been hit hard by injuries.
Why Was Akash Deep Ruled Out?
Akash Deep failed to recover from a stress reaction in his lower back in time for the season. He has been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and never joined the KKR training camp.
According to reports, he needs around three months to fully recover. As a result, KKR needed to act fast with their opener against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on March 29 just days away.
How Did Saurabh Dubey Earn the KKR Contract?
KKR held bowling trials at their training camp in Kolkata over the past week. Several domestic quicks participated, including Navdeep Saini, KM Asif, Simarjeet Singh, Akash Madhwal, and Sandeep Warrier.
However, Dubey stood out. Head coach Abhishek Nayar reportedly called the management and said he was the one they wanted. Venky Mysore confirmed this during the announcement, saying the coaches were excited by what they saw.
Interestingly, Dubey went unsold at the IPL 2026 mini-auction with a base price of just ₹30 lakh. But because he remained in the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP), KKR could still sign him as an injury replacement.
What’s Saurabh Dubey’s Cricket Background?
Dubey first caught attention in 2019 as the leading wicket-taker for India in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup under then-coach Rahul Dravid. He stands roughly 6’5″, which gives him natural bounce and an awkward angle for batters.
His domestic numbers are modest: 16 wickets in eight List A matches and just three T20s for Vidarbha. His last competitive match came in October 2023 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Still, he performed well in the Vidarbha Pro T20 League last year, picking up multiple-wicket hauls for Orange Tigers.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for ₹20 lakh in the IPL 2022 auction, but a back injury cut his stint short before he could debut. He also spent time as a net bowler with Mumbai Indians.
Former national selector Subroto Banerjee, who closely tracked Dubey in Nagpur, backed the signing. He highlighted Dubey’s ability to extract extra bounce and swing the ball both ways.
How Bad Is KKR’s Pace Bowling Crisis?
Dubey walks into a squad dealing with a genuine fast-bowling emergency.
Harshit Rana is ruled out for the entire season after knee surgery. Akash Deep now joins him on the sidelines. Matheesha Pathirana (₹18 crore signing) is recovering from a calf strain picked up during the T20 World Cup and won’t be available until mid-April at the earliest. On top of that, doubts remain over whether Cameron Green will bowl this season.
That leaves Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, and now Dubey as KKR’s available seamers for the opening phase. For a franchise that starts against MI on March 29, that’s a thin pace cupboard to work with.
