2026 Kolkata Knight Riders season
Indian Premier League cricket team
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The 2026 edition was the 19th season for the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. They were one of the ten teams competing in the 2026 Indian Premier League. The team finished in eighth place in the previous season's league stage.[1]
| 2026 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Eden Gardens, home ground of Kolkata Knight Riders | |||
| Head coach | Abhishek Nayar | ||
| Captain | Ajinkya Rahane | ||
| Ground(s) | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | ||
| League stage | 7th position | ||
| Most runs | Angkrish Raghuvanshi (422) | ||
| Most wickets | Kartik Tyagi (18) | ||
| Most catches | Rinku Singh (9) | ||
| Most wicket-keeping dismissals | Angkrish Raghuvanshi (4) | ||
| |||
The team had a disastrous start to the season, losing five of their first six matches, with one match against the Kings ending in a no-result due to rain. They registered their first win of the season against the Royals on 19 April 2026. They made a strong comeback, winning four consecutive matches before losing to the Royal Challengers on 13 May 2026. The team was eliminated from playoff contention after Royals won their last league match on 24 May 2026. The team lost their last league fixture against the Capitals on the same day and finished 7th in the season.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the team's best batter, scoring 422 runs, while Kartik Tyagi was the team's best bowler, clinching 18 wickets in the season. Sunil Narine was also the team's Most Valuable Player (MVP) with 268.5 points. The team finished third in the Fairplay Award list, with an average of 9.86 points.
Pre-season
Kolkata Knight Riders are a franchise cricket team based in Kolkata, India, which has been playing in the Indian Premier League since its inaugural season. The team has been the third-most successful in the tournament, having won three titles.[2] They were one of the ten teams that competed in the 2026 edition from 28 March to 31 May 2026.[3] They were led by Ajinkya Rahane and coached by Abhishek Nayar.[4] Rinku Singh served as the vice-captain of the team.[5] The team played all its home matches at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Player retention and releases
The retentions were announced on 15 November 2025.[6] Kolkata Knight Riders retained a total of 12 players.[7] Big names such as Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, along with eight other players, were released before the auction.[8] During the trade window period, Indian spinner Mayank Markande was traded from Kolkata Knight Riders to Mumbai Indians.[9]
| No. | Player | Salary | No. | Player | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Rinku Singh | ₹13 crore (US$1.3 million) | 14 | Vaibhav Arora | ₹1.8 crore (US$190,000) |
| 74 | Sunil Narine | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) | 3 | Ajinkya Rahane (c) | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) |
| 29 | Varun Chakravarthy | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) | 52 | Rovman Powell | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) |
| 22 | Harshit Rana | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) | 9 | Manish Pandey | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) |
| 19 | Ramandeep Singh | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) | 24 | Umran Malik | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) |
| 18 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | ₹3 crore (US$310,000) | 45 | Anukul Roy | ₹40 lakh (US$42,000) |
Retirement
In the midst of confusion over release and achieving a high auction price, on 30 November 2025, Andre Russell declared his retirement from the Indian Premier League, concluding his 12-year career with the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise.[12] The team later decided to retire Russell's jersey number 12 to honor his contributions during his IPL career.[13]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Age | Tenure with KKR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
30 November 2025 |
Andre Russell |  Jamaica |
37 | 2014-2025 (12 years) |
Auction summary
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The mini-auction took place on 16 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[14] Kolkata entered with the highest purse in the 2026 auction - ₹64.30 crore (US$6.7 million), with 13 slots to fill (including 6 overseas slots).[15] They bought Australian all-rounder Cameron Green for a whopping ₹25.20 crore (US$2.6 million), their most expensive buy in IPL history. Green also clinched the record for the league's most expensive foreign player, surpassing Mitchell Starc's record of ₹24.75 crore (US$2.6 million).[16] They also bought Sri lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana for a staggering price of ₹18.00 crore (US$1.9 million).[17] The team filled all its 13 remaining slots with ₹45 lakh (US$47,000) left.[18]
| Team | Retained | Bought | Overall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capped | Uncapped | Total | Capped | Uncapped | Total | Capped | Uncapped | Total | |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 9 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 25 |
Squad
- Players with international caps as of the start of the 2026 season are listed in bold.
- Ages are as of 28 March 2026.
| S/N | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | ||||||||
3 | Ajinkya Rahane |  India | 6 June 1988 (aged 37) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2025 | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) | |
| Batters | ||||||||
35 | Rinku Singh | India | 12 October 1997 (aged 28) | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2018 | ₹13.0 crore (US$1.3 million) | Vice-captain |
9 | Manish Pandey | India | 10 September 1989 (aged 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2024 | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | |
52 | Rovman Powell |  West Indies | 23 July 1993 (aged 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2025 | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) | Overseas |
28 | Rahul Tripathi | India | 2 March 1991 (aged 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2026 | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||||
16 | Finn Allen |  New Zealand | 22 April 1999 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2026 | ₹2.0 crore (US$210,000) | Overseas |
21 | Tejasvi Singh Dahiya | India | 18 April 2002 (aged 23) | Right-handed | N/a | 2026 | ₹3.0 crore (US$310,000) | |
43 | Tim Seifert | New Zealand | 14 December 1994 (aged 31) | Right-handed | N/a | 2026 | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) | Overseas |
18 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | India | 5 June 2004 (aged 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2024 | ₹3.0 crore (US$310,000) | Ruled-out[a] |
| All-rounders | ||||||||
74 | Sunil Narine | West Indies | 26 May 1988 (aged 37) | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2012 | ₹12.0 crore (US$1.2 million) | Overseas |
45 | Anukul Roy | India | 30 November 1998 (aged 27) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2022 | ₹40 lakh (US$42,000) | |
19 | Ramandeep Singh | India | 13 April 1997 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2024 | ₹4.0 crore (US$420,000) | |
42 | Cameron Green |  Australia | 3 June 1999 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2026 | ₹25.2 crore (US$2.6 million) | Overseas |
4 | Sarthak Ranjan | India | 25 September 1996 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | 2026 | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
63 | Daksh Kamra | India | 9 January 2003 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | 2026 | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
8 | Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand | 18 November 1999 (aged 26) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2026 | ₹2.0 crore (US$210,000) | Overseas; Unavailable[b] |
| Pacers | ||||||||
14 | Vaibhav Arora | India | 14 December 1997 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2023 | ₹1.8 crore (US$190,000) | |
24 | Umran Malik | India | 22 November 1999 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2025 | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | |
81 | Matheesha Pathirana |  Sri Lanka | 18 December 2002 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2026 | ₹18.0 crore (US$1.9 million) | Overseas; Injured[c] |
26 | Kartik Tyagi | India | 8 November 2000 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2026 | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
40 | Blessing Muzarabani |  Zimbabwe | 2 October 1996 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2026 | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | Overseas; Added[d] |
33 | Saurabh Dubey | India | 23 January 1998 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | 2026 | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | Replacement[e] |
23 | Navdeep Saini | India | 23 November 1992 (aged 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2026 | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | Replacement[f] |
22 | Harshit Rana | India | 22 December 2001 (aged 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2022 | ₹4.0 crore (US$420,000) | Ruled-out[f] |
— | Akash Deep | India | 15 December 1996 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2026 | ₹1.0 crore (US$100,000) | Ruled-out[e] |
— | Mustafizur Rahman |  Bangladesh | 6 September 1995 (aged 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2026 | ₹9.2 crore (US$960,000) | Overseas; Released[d] |
| Spinners | ||||||||
29 | Varun Chakravarthy | India | 29 August 1991 (aged 34) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | 2020 | ₹12.0 crore (US$1.2 million) | |
| Prashant Solanki | India | 22 February 2000 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | 2026 | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | ||
Playing XII
| Opponent → | MI |
SRH |
PBKS |
LSG |
CSK |
GT |
RR |
LSG |
SRH |
DC |
RCB |
GT |
MI |
DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player ↓ | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13[g] | N/a | |
| 1 | 2 | N/a | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | N/a | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||
| N/a | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | N/a | 10 | 11 | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | N/a | |||
| 1 | 2 | N/a | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | N/a | 9 | 10 | 11 | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | N/a | ||||||
| N/a | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||
| N/a | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||
| N/a | 1 | 2 | 3 | N/a | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | N/a | ||||||||||||
| N/a | 1 | 2 | N/a | |||||||||||
| N/a | 1[g] | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N/a | 1 | N/a | ||||||||||||
Administration and support staff
Abhishek Nayar took over as the team's head coach after Chandrakant Pandit's three-year contract ended.[29] Shane Watson replaced Ottis Gibson as the team's assistant coach.[30] Tim Southee replaced Bharat Arun and Carl Crowe as the bowling coach.[31] Andre Russell was appointed as the power coach of the team, a unique role in franchise cricket.[32] Dishant Yagnik has been appointed as the team's fielding coach.[33] Manvinder Bisla and Biju George have joined the team as the new heads of scouting.[34]
| Position | Name | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Shah Rukh Khan (RCE) Jay Mehta (Mehta Group) |
CEO and MD | Venky Mysore |
| Head coach | Abhishek Nayar | Mentor | Dwayne Bravo |
| Assistant coach | Shane Watson | Team manager | Wayne Bentley |
| Bowling coach | Tim Southee | Power coach | Andre Russell |
| Fielding coach | Dishant Yagnik | Strength and Conditioning coach | Chris Donaldson |
| Analyst | Nathan Leamon | Massage Therapist | Subhajit Das |
| Physiotherapist | Prasanth Panchada | Head of Scouting | Biju George Manvinder Bisla |
| Source: KKR Staff | |||
Intra-squad practice
The team held its first intra-squad practice game on 20 March at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.[35] The team held its second practice match on 23 March.[36]
20 March 2026 18:30 |
Golden Knights 199/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Purple Knights 203/4 (19.2 overs) |
23 March 2026 18:30 |
Golden Knights 249/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Purple Knights 188/9 (20 overs) |
- The target for Purple nights was reduced to 190 runs in 20 overs.
League stage
Points table
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (C) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.783 | Advanced to Qualifier 1 |
| 2 | B | Gujarat Titans (R) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.695 | |
| 3 | B | Sunrisers Hyderabad (4th) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.524 | Advanced to Eliminator |
| 4 | A | Rajasthan Royals (3rd) | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0.189 | |
| 5 | A | Punjab Kings | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0.309 | Eliminated |
| 6 | B | Delhi Capitals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | −0.651 | |
| 7 | A | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | −0.147 | |
| 8 | A | Chennai Super Kings | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | −0.345 | |
| 9 | B | Mumbai Indians | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.584 | |
| 10 | B | Lucknow Super Giants | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.740 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Wickets taken per fair deliveries; 5) drawing lots[38]
(C) Champions; (R) Runners-up
League progression
| Win | Loss | No result |
- Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
- Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.
Results
Kolkata Knight Riders 220/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Mumbai Indians (H) 224/4 (19.1 overs) |
- Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.
- Mumbai Indians became the first franchise to play in 300 T20 matches.[39]
- Allah Ghazanfar (Mumbai Indians), Finn Allen and Blessing Muzarabani (Kolkata Knight Riders) all made their IPL debuts.[40][41][42]
- Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders) played in his 200th IPL match.[43]
- This was Mumbai Indians' highest successful run chase in the IPL.[44]
- For the first time since the 2012 season, Mumbai Indians won their opening match.[45]
Sunrisers Hyderabad 226/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 161 (16 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
- Abhishek Sharma became the first Indian player and overall second player to hit 100 sixes for Sunrisers Hyderabad.[46]
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 25/2 (3.4 overs) |
v |
|
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat.
- No further play was possible due to rain.
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 181/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Lucknow Super Giants 182/7 (20 overs) |
- Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and elected to field.
Chennai Super Kings (H) 192/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 160/7 (20 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Kolkata Knight Riders 180 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Titans (H) 181/5 (19.4 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat.
- Jos Buttler (Gujarat Titans) became the fourth player to take 300 catches in T20s.[47]
Rajasthan Royals 155/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 161/6 (19.4 overs) |
- Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat.
Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Lucknow Super Giants (H) 155/8 (20 overs) |
- Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and elected to field.
- Super Over: Lucknow Super Giants 1/2 (0.3 overs), Kolkata Knight Riders 4/0 (0.1 overs)
Sunrisers Hyderabad (H) 165 (19 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 169/3 (18.2 overs) |
- Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat.
- Smaran Ravichandran (Sunrisers Hyderabad) made his IPL debut.[48]
- Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) became the first overseas player to take 200 wickets in IPL.[49]
Delhi Capitals (H) 142/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 147/2 (14.2 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
- Finn Allen (Kolkata Knight Riders) scored his maiden century in IPL.[50]
Kolkata Knight Riders 192/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (H) 194/4 (19.1 overs) |
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to field.
- Saurabh Dubey (Kolkata Knight Riders) made his IPL debut.[51]
- Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) became the fastest player to score 14,000 runs in T20s, in terms of innings played (409). He also became the first Indian player to score 10 centuries in T20s.[52]
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 247/2 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Titans 218/4 (20 overs) |
- Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to field.
- Kolkata Knight Riders became the second IPL team to play in 100 matches at a home venue.[53]
- Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) became the first overseas player to play in 200 IPL matches.[54]
- Cameron Green (Kolkata Knight Riders) scored his 1,000th run in IPL.[55]
Mumbai Indians 147/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 148/6 (18.5 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
- Tejasvi Singh Dahiya (Kolkata Knight Riders) made his IPL debut. He replaced Angkrish Raghuvanshi as a concussion substitute after the batter got injured during the first innings.[56]
Delhi Capitals 203/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 163 (18.4 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Statistics
Most runs
| Runs | Cricketer | Inns. | HS | Avg. | SR | 50s/100s | 4s/6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 422 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | 12 | 82* (v GT) | 42.20 | 146.52 | 5/0 | 40/19 |
| 349 | Finn Allen | 11 | 100* (v DC) | 34.90 | 219.33 | 1/1 | 33/28 |
| 335 | Ajinkya Rahane | 14 | 67 (v MI) | 22.67 | 130.14 | 2/0 | 25/18 |
| 322 | Cameron Green | 14 | 79 (v GT) | 32.20 | 146.78 | 2/0 | 22/17 |
| 295 | Rinku Singh | 10 | 83* (v LSG) | 73.75 | 149.74 | 2/0 | 27/11 |
| Last Updated: 24 May | Source: | |||||||
Most wickets
| Wickets | Player | Inns. | BBI | Avg. | Eco. | SR | 3w/4w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Kartik Tyagi | 13 | 3/22 (v RR) | 27.66 | 9.76 | 17.00 | 2/0 |
| 15 | Sunil Narine | 13 | 2/26 (v RR) | 22.60 | 6.64 | 20.40 | N/a |
| 11 | Varun Chakravarthy | 11 | 3/14 (v RR) | 32.72 | 8.78 | 22.36 | 2/0 |
| Vaibhav Arora | 10 | 2/24 (v LSG) | 35.45 | 10.26 | 20.72 | N/a | |
| 9 | Anukul Roy | 12 | 2/31 (v DC) | 29.00 | 9.60 | 18.11 | N/a |
| Last Updated: 24 May | Source: | |||||||
Player of the match
| Match No. | Date | Player | Contribution | Opponent | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 19 April | Varun Chakravarthy | 3/14 (4 overs) | Rajasthan Royals | [57] |
| 38 | 26 April | Rinku Singh | 83* (51) & 4 catches | Lucknow Super Giants | [58] |
| 45 | 3 May | Varun Chakravarthy | 3/36 (4 overs) | Sunrisers Hyderabad | [59] |
| 51 | 8 May | Finn Allen | 100* (47) | Delhi Capitals | [60] |
| 60 | 16 May | Sunil Narine | 2/29 (4 overs) | Gujarat Titans | [61] |
| 65 | 20 May | Manish Pandey | 45 (33) | Mumbai Indians | [62] |
Marketing
Following the departure of Dream11, which was primarily due to the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders announced Vida EV, a subsidiary of Hero MotoCorp, as their new title partner for the next three years.[63] RR Kabel continues as the principal partner for the 2026 season as part of their multi-year partnership agreement.[64] In February 2026, the team organized a unique box-cricket tournament featuring only the passionate fan clubs of the Kolkata Knight Riders. They invited popular local influencers to promote the tournament to a larger audience.[65] In March 2026, the team revealed its new jersey, themed around the Lines of Legacy.[66] The team has partnered with Krafton India to deliver exciting franchise-themed in-game content in the latest update of Battlegrounds Mobile India.[67] The team held the Knights Unplugged 3.0, an exclusive, pre-season event which connect players, partners and the fans on 24 March.[68]
Controversies
Exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman
Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was bought by Kolkata for ₹9.2 crore (US$960,000) in the auction.[69] Following the 2025 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence and lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in December 2025 led to calls for exclusion of Bangladeshi players from IPL.[70] In January 2026, the BCCI requested that the franchise release Rahman from the squad and permitted them to select a replacement player.[71] In March 2026, the team filled the empty spot by adding Zimbabwean pacer Blessing Muzarabani in the squad.[72]
Dwayne Bravo's criticisms
The team held an official press conference ahead of the season on March 20, which included the captain Ajinkya Rahane, head coach Abhishek Nayar, assistant coach Shane Watson, and mentor Dwayne Bravo.[73] Before the meeting began, Bravo was overheard speaking to Watson and Nayar, saying, “When these guys called me, I had two women at my home.” Rahane then pointed out to Bravo that the microphones were on, leaving Bravo visibly embarrassed.[74] Two days later, Bravo faced criticism for attending the Chennai Super Kings event instead of helping the Knight Riders team prepare for the upcoming season.[75]
Notes
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been ruled out of the tournament due to finger fracture sustained during the team's fixture against Mumbai Indians[20]
- Rachin Ravindra headed home early to get refresh ahead of New Zealand's test tours against England and Ireland and will remain unavailable for the team's last league-stage fixture against Delhi Capitals.[21]
- Matheesha Pathirana sustained an injury during the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, which caused him to miss the first half of the season.[22] He then suffered a hamstring discomfort after bowling just eight balls in the team's match against the Gujarat Titans.[23]
- Akash Deep has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.[26] Saurabh Dubey has been named as his replacement.[27]
- Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury sustained during the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup warm-ups.[24] Navdeep Saini has been named as his replacement.[25]
- Tejasvi Singh Dahiya replaced Angkrish Raghuvanshi as the concussion substitute due to the latter's injury faced during the first innings of the match.[28]