Kolkata Knight Riders have announced Navdeep Saini as the injury replacement for Harshit Ranas, the IPL body confirmed on Wednesday, March 25. Meanwhile, GT have announced Kulwant Khejroliya as a replacement for Prithviraj Yarri.
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“Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have picked Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya, respectively, as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026,” the IPL body wrote in a statement.
“Right-arm pacer Navdeep Saini has scalped 23 wickets in 32 IPL matches played so far, in addition to 23 wickets in international cricket for India. He will replace the injured Harshit and join KKR for INR 75 Lakh. Meanwhile, Khejroliya replaces the injured Prithviraj Yarra in GT. The left-arm pacer, who has 6 IPL wickets to his name, has previously featured for GT, KKR, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He will join GT for INR 30 Lakh,” it added.
Kulwant Khejroliya returns to GT
On the other hand, the Gujarat Titans have included left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya in their squad as a replacement for the injured Prithviraj Yarra. Khejroliya has taken six wickets in the IPL and has previously played for GT, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He has been signed for โน30 lakh.
Even before the start of IPL 2026, the rising number of injuries has become a concern for teams. In such a situation, replacement players will carry significant responsibility to live up to expectations. It will now be interesting to see how Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya perform with the ball and how effective they prove to be.