Akash Deep out of IPL with back injury; doubtful for one-off Test against Afghanistan in June

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders suffered yet another blow to their pace resources with India seamer Akash Deep ruled out for at least eight weeks due to a stress reaction in lower back on Saturday, which effectively sidelined him from the Indian Premier League.

The injury has also put the right-arm pacer in serious doubt for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in early June.

"Akash Deep has had stress reaction on his lower back. There has been recurrence and it might take 8-12 weeks to heal. He is not going to play the IPL and is very unlikely to be selected against Afghanistan,” a BCCI source in the know told PTI.

The 29-year-old Bengal pacer, who was last seen in action during the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Jammu and Kashmir, had looked short of full fitness, bowling just 13 overs in the first innings and under seven in the second.

He has since been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and did not join KKR preparatory camp which began here on Wednesday.

"It will take considerable time for healing, workload adaptation followed by Return To Play protocols. So conservative estimate of recovery will be around 10 weeks but it could take more time," the board source added.

Akash Deep is the latest addition to the three-time champions' growing injury list which includes India pacer Harshit Rana and their Rs 18-crore Sri Lankan recruit Matheesha Pathirana, further depleting the franchise's fast-bowling stocks.

With Akash Deep and Rana unavailable, KKR will have to rely heavily on their remaining domestic options, including Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi and a fit-again Umran Malik.

KKR, who finished a poor eighth in their title defence last season, are already without Rana, who is recovering from a ligament strain in his right knee.

The left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman had to be released earlier this year following a BCCI directive, prompting KKR to rope in Zimbabwe quick Blessing Muzarabani as his replacement.

The Abhishek Nayar-coached and Ajinkya Rahane-led franchise has also been scouting replacements and held trials featuring several IPL-experienced pacers, including Akash Madhwal, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, KM Asif and Sandeep Warrier.

Among them, Madhwal, who grabbed attention with a stunning 5/5 for Mumbai Indians in the 2023 Eliminator, appears to be ahead in the race, though the franchise is yet to announce a replacement.

Nayar on Friday said the management is close to finalising a replacement and would do it before leaving for their IPL opener in Mumbai on April 29. The squad will leave for Mumbai on April 25.

"It (Harshit Rana's absence) is a big blow because Harshit has been an integral part of this team for the last couple of seasons, also the championship season. Over the last year, he's really grown as a cricketer. So we always miss Harshit Rana." “But having said that, over the last few days, we've been having looking at a few bowlers, we've had to evaluate with the help of our leadership group as to who fits in and who can do that role to the best of their prowess. Hopefully we'll identify someone who we feel can make a difference,” Nayar said.

However, team mentor Dwayne Bravo does not believe it's a worry and insisted that they have enough depth to cope with the setbacks.

"In any tournament with any team, once you lose some of the key bowling options, these are not things you plan for, but these are things you have to accept," Bravo said on Friday.

“The good thing about Indian cricket, especially at the moment, there's a lot of depth. There're the likes of Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora... they are young, exciting talents. We lost some key players, but I feel comfortable to know that we have what it takes to replace those guys. From a bowling point of view, I think we will be fine,” he said.