Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered tremendously since the IPL 2026 auction. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman had to be released in accordance with BCCI guidelines, while Sri Lanka speedster Matheesha Pathirana suffered a calf injury during the T20 World Cup 2026. Harshit Ranaโs fitness is a concern as well, with the India international reported to miss a significant chunk of the next season, if not the entire.ย
Adding to their troubles is the inconsistent form of certain squad players. In the IPL 2025 mega-auction, the three-time champions signed Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umran Malik for INR 75 lakhs, but he was ruled out with injury. Despite the setback, the franchise retained him for the 2026 season but the 26-year-old struggled to rediscover his form.
Umran hasnโt played competitive cricket since December 2025 and his first match in the DY Patil T20 Cup proved forgettable. In his first outing in two months, he leaked 59 runs in his two overs. Erratic line and length compounded his woes, as he delivered two wides and three no-balls in his two overs, leading to him conceding 36 runs in his second over, which highlights his struggle.
Other KKR players are out of form too
Rinku Singh, one of KKRโs key players, has failed to live up to expectations in the past few months. The flamboyant batter has scored just 115 runs in eight innings in 2026, which may not look alarming at first glance, given his limited role, but Rinku has struggled with consistency, having scored just three times in double digits. Out of which, one was 11* against Pakistan in Colombo.
On the other hand, Ramandeep Singh, who was retained for INR 4 crore ahead of the mega-auction, conceded 33 runs in his three overs for Tata Sports Club in the DY Patil T20 Cup. He scored just eight runs off the bat. The 28-year-old showed tremendous potential early in his career, but struggled to keep up with the momentum.
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Arora, who was part of the same game, conceded 34 runs in his four overs, claiming the wicket of Harsh Tyagi.ย
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