IPL 2026: Fresh injury scare for KKR as star pacer uncertain to play vs PBKS
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hit by another injury blow? Ahead of their home match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens on Monday, April 6,
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hit by another injury blow? Ahead of their home match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens on Monday, April 6, there are some uncertainties over the Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani. As of now, he is uncertain to face PBKS tonight.
During the practice sessions for the PBKS match, New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra was spotted doing extensive training in the nets ahead of KKR’s third match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season. There are speculations that the Kiwi all-rounder can feature for KKR against Punjab. Another overseas player, Rovman Powell, also spent a significant time in the training seasons.
KKR pacer Blessing Muzarabani to miss PBKS match?
On Monday morning, former Indian cricketer Shreevats Goswami expressed his concerns over the availability of the Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, who joined the team as the replacement of the Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman. Goswami highlighted that Muzarabani had a short run-up in his last over of the previous match, which had raised doubts about his fitness level.
If the team provides Rachin Ravindra a chance against the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings, then the team will have the chance to utilize his spin bowling skills; additionally, he is a class batter. In the 2026 T20 World Cup, Ravindra proved effective with his spin bowling for the New Zealand cricket team.
Why Rachin Ravindra can be the best replacement?
In ICC’s flagship tournament, he claimed 12 wickets in 9 matches to become one of the most effective bowlers for New Zealand.
Rachin Ravindra’s notable stats (batting & bowling) in the 2026 T20 World Cup 2026:
|
Matches |
Runs |
Highest Score |
Batting Avg |
Wickets |
Best Bowling |
Bowling Avg |
Avg Diff |
|
9 |
129 |
59* |
25.8 |
12 |
4/27 |
12.41 |
13.38 |
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“Rachin Ravindra in place of Muzarabani for KKR? Blessing was bowling with a short runup last over of the last game. wonder if he’s fully fit. Rachin had a great outing with his left-arm spin in the T20 WC. KKR could do with 4 good overs of him in the middle + he’s a good bat,” Shreevats Goswami wrote in his tweet.
During the previous outing with KKR, Blessing Muzarabani appeared as the most successful bowler against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 4 wickets in 4 overs for an economy rate of 10.25 after going expensive with the new ball.
All possible options if Muzarabani is unable to play
If Muzarabani is unable to play against PBKS, KKR can choose another overseas player in their playing combination. Among the overseas players, Rachin Ravindra is looking like the best contender to replace the pacer as the Kiwi can do both batting and bowling, which will help the team to maintain balance in their combination. But, if the team chose to go with pure batting power, then the middle-order batter Rovman Powell can be the best option. Tim Seifert is also in the squad, but he is a regular opener.
As Cameron Green is uncertain to bowl, the pacer attack of Kolkata is likely to be all Indian. Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi are expected to remain on the first XI. For a third seam option, to fill the gape of Blessing Muzarabani, Navdeep Saini, and Umran Malik could be the ideal contenders.
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