Three times IPL champions Kolkata Knigh Riders have suffered a significant setback just before the start of the new season. All-rounder Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. Rana, 24, suffered the injury during a warm-up fixture against South Africa while playing for India before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in Navi Mumbai. Since then he has not been seen playing on the field. On 9 February, Rana underwent knee surgery in Mumbai. However, he will not be able to recover and take part in the new IPL season. This absence comes as a major blow to KKR, who had the all-rounder playing a vital role in their triumph in 2024. Harshit Rana's Impact at KKR Rana enjoyed a successful IPL 2024 season where he bagged 19 wickets to help KKR lift the trophy, which also resulted in him securing a regular spot in all three formats for India. KKR retained Rana for 4 crore before the 2025 season. The pacer continued his good form during the IPL 2025 season where he finished with 15 wickets in 13 matches, and was the leading wicket-taker in the side's bowling unit. KKR will be looking towards the rest of the bowlers to step up in Rana's absence. A source informed TOI: "Harshit Rana unfortunately will not be available but it gives the opportunity to other bowlers in the squad - Vaibhav, Umran, Kartik and Akash - to step up and grab the opportunity. No replacement has been decided yet." Players like Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi and Akash Deep are all likely to get more chances in Rana's absence. Also Read | 'No Coach Can Tell MS Dhoni He's Dropped from CSK XI', Says Ex-CSK Batter Pathirana Injury Concern, Muzarabani's Arrival at KKR KKR are dealing with an additional concern regarding Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who is nursing an injury he picked up during the T20 World Cup, and the team is awaiting clarity on his availability. KKR, however, did secure the services of Blessing Muzarabani from Zimbabwe earlier this week to bolster their pace attack. Standing 6 ft 8 in tall, Muzarabani is one of the premier pacers in T20 cricket in Zimbabwe, and is known to generate a lot of steep bounce as well as trouble batters. In 89 T20I, the Zimbabwe pacer has taken 106 wickets at an average of 21.34 with his best bowling figures in the format reading 4/17 which came against Australia in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. The Zimbabwe pacer is expected to arrive in Kolkata on 17 March to begin his preparations for the IPL 2026 season with KKR.