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Kolkata: After Harshit Rana, now after Akash Deep is also out of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is looking for an alternative fast bowler. A top Kolkata Knight Riders official confirmed Akash Deep’s exit from the IPL to Cricbuzz, saying, “Unfortunately, he has been ruled out of the IPL. He has been ruled out for this season.”

This 29-year-old Bengal fast bowler Akash Deep was bought by the franchise in the mini-auction held in Abu Dhabi last year at a base price of Rs 1 crore. Akash Deep has not joined the Kolkata Knight Riders camp, which is going on in Kolkata since March 18. He is understood to be undergoing rehabilitation at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, although the exact nature of his injury is still unclear.

It is believed that the rehabilitation managers have given some information to the franchise regarding the player. Akash has been a frequent victim of injuries, which has forced him to miss matches regularly – whether he is playing for India or an IPL franchise. In the last IPL, he was a part of Lucknow Supergiants. After one season the franchise itself released him. With Akash unavailable, the Knight Riders are now left with no other option but to find a replacement. The franchise was also in a dilemma about finding a replacement for Harshit Rana, who was ruled out even before the start of the camp due to knee surgery. The opinion within the camp was that there was no suitable replacement available for an excellent player like Rana.

KKR head coach Abhishek Nair on Friday had hinted at looking for a replacement, perhaps based on the knowledge that Akash is also doubtful to play this season. “Hopefully soon, I think in a day or two,” he said. Apparently, Harshit is currently in rehabilitation with BCCI. The medical team will let us know as soon as we get any updates. We’ll try to see who we’re picking before we make an announcement. It will take us a few more days.”

This latest setback has further increased the bowling difficulties of the Knight Riders ahead of this season. The franchise had invested a lot of money on Pathirana (bought him for Rs 18 crore), but the Sri Lankan fast bowler is yet to receive the NOC from his board. Anyway, it is expected that he will miss at least some part of this season. Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik and Karthik Tyagi are the Indian fast bowlers currently included in KKR. The team management, of course, also has the option of using all-rounder Cameron Green for a few overs. KKR will start its campaign in the tournament on March 29 against Mumbai Indians.