Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 21 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) face another injury setback as Indian pacer Akash Deep is likely to be ruled out of the upcoming season due to a lower-back stress injury he has not yet recovered from, reported ESPNCricinfo on Saturday.

As per ESPNCricinfo, Akash Deep still needs three months to recover. His last appearance in competitive cricket was against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 back in mid-February. The pacer had a solid season with Bengal, taking 22 wickets in six matches at an average of 27.13, with a four-fer and a five-wicket haul to his name.

The bowler, who took a historic ten-wicket haul during India's landmark Test win at Birmingham against England last year, was not a part of the team's preparation camp and was present in Bengaluru for his rehab at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence.

This injury is the latest dent to KKR's fast bowling department, with Indian pacer Harshit Rana all but ruled out due to his injury, while Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is also expected to miss the first half of the competition due to injury. He was bought by KKR for Rs 18 crores last season, and their absence removes considerable international experience from the bowling line-up. Vaibhav Arora, who has formed a fine pace partnership with Harshit over the last couple of seasons, could be one of the leaders of the pace line-up alongside Zimbabwe's star bowler Blessing Muzarabani (replacement of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman). The fast bowling attack also features youngsters Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi. Cameron Green is also a seam-bowling all-rounder option, but the big buy from Australia is injury-prone and could need workload management.

Heading into the tournament, KKR had lost the services of Mustafizur after they released him from the squad on instructions from the BCCI in light of minority atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.

The team is conducting trials for finding an Indian fast bowler, a replacement for Rana, as they attempt to repair and rebuild their pace attack ahead of the new season. (ANI)