KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders’ problems are mounting as their pacer Aakash Deep is ruled out for at least eight weeks with a lower back pressure injury he sustained on Saturday.
Not only has the injury ruled the Bangladesh pacer out of the IPL this season, but his availability for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in early June now looks doubtful.
BCCI sources said, “Akash Deep has suffered a stress reaction in his lower back. It has relapsed and may take 8-12 weeks to recover. He will not play in the IPL and is unlikely to be selected for the match against Afghanistan.”
The cricketer from Bihar has played 14 games since making his IPL debut in 2022, taking 10 wickets in four seasons.
The 29-year-old Bengal pacer was selected for Rs 1 crore in the mini-auction in Abu Dhabi last year but he did not participate in the Cavaliers’ pre-season training camp at Eden Gardens on March 18.
The pacer suffered the injury during the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Bangladesh and Jammu and Kashmir in Kalyani. He scored just 13 runs in the first inning and less than 7 in the second inning, and Bangladesh lost the game. He has since been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. Although he recovered well, it is understood that he once again experienced some uneasiness that prevented him from participating in the game.
Akash Deep becomes the latest addition to the three-time champion’s growing injury list. India pacer Harshit Rana is almost out and the team management is desperately waiting for Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana to get fit.
KKR have riches in batting and they will have to rely on their remaining domestic bowling options like Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi and Umran Malik.
Seamers Akash Madhwal, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, KM Asif and Sandeep Warrier have been asked to participate in the reserve camp as the team looks for replacements.
