India, March 21 -- Kolkata Knight Riders are heading into IPL 2026 facing another major blow to their pace department. After head coach Abhishek Nayar confirmed on Friday that Harshit Rana would miss the entire season, a day later, Cricbuzz has emerged that Akash Deep is also ruled out and will not join KKR's camp at all this year.

Earlier, KKR had to release Mustafizur Rahman due to the India-Bangladesh conflict, while Matheesha Pathirana is still waiting for clearance from Sri Lanka Cricket regarding his fitness. With these setbacks, KKR's fast-bowling options are now thin, leaving the team to rely on a pace attack they hadn't even planned for during the auction.

Akash Deep had been acquired at his base price of INR 1 crore in the min...