IPL 2026: KKR replace Akash Deep with Vidarbha pacer, SRH name Jack Edwards' replacement

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) named Saurabh Dubey as Akash Deep’s replacement for the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) on Tuesday, March 24. Akash has been ruled out of the upcoming season due to a lumbar stress injury, and he will be under the care of the BCCI Medical Team at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru for further management of his injury.

KKR bought Akash Deep for Rs 1 Crore during the IPL 2026 mini auction held in Abu Dhabi and have signed Vidarbha seamer Saurabh Dubey as his replacement for Rs 30 Lakh. Dubey is a left-arm seamer and has scalped 16 wickets from 8 List A matches at an average of 23.31 with best figures of 4/26. On the other hand, he has remained wicketless in the three T20 matches he’s played.

Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have also named David Payne as a replacement for injured Jack Edwards. The 25-year-old seam-bowling allrounder from Australia was bought for Rs 3 crore at the mini-auction, but has been ruled out of the tournament due to a foot injury.

SRH to take on RCB in opening fixture

In his place, SRH have signed England seamer David Payne for Rs 1.5 Crore. The 35-year-old has played one ODI for his country and is vastly experienced in T20 cricket. He has scalped 304 wickets from 229 innings at an average of 21.16 and an economy of 8.03 with one five-wicket haul to his name.

SRH will begin their IPL 2026 campaign during the curtain raiser of the tournament against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. On the other hand, KKR will lock horns with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their first fixture on March 29 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.