Kolkata Knight Riders have moved quickly after Harshit Rana’s shoulder niggle, bringing in Navdeep Saini for INR 75 lakh. Gujarat Titans, dealing with their own injury list, have recalled left-armer Kulwant Khejroliya for INR 30 lakh to cover the loss of Prithvi Raj Yarra.
Those are the main changes, both franchises choosing known quantities rather than rolling the dice on completely new names.
Saini, 31, has two Tests, eight ODIs and eleven T20Is in the bank but has not played for India since 2021. His IPL career stalled too; the last appearance came in 2023. Across 32 matches he owns 23 wickets, economy 8.88 – useful, not eye-catching, and partly why he slipped off the radar after stints at Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals.
He admitted as much in a chat with KKR Knight Club: “If I have to give this opportunity another name, I will call it revival,” he said, the relief hard to miss. “I saw many ups and downs in the last two-three years. But the important thing was to be there and keep working hard. Ever since I started playing cricket, I have relied on hard work. So I didn’t give that up and because of that, I got this opportunity. You can say this has revived me.”
Knight Riders had already drafted Saurabh Dubey to replace the injured Akash Deep, so Saini’s arrival completes a rapid reshuffle of the back-up pace options. KKR sources suggested the management liked his ability to bowl at the death and the fact he is match-fit after a full domestic season with Delhi.
Over in Ahmedabad, Titans have opted for familiarity. Khejroliya played one match for them last year – 1 for 29 in three overs – and has previous spells with RCB (five games, 2018-19) and KKR (two games, 2023). The left-armer offers a different angle on the largely right-arm attack, though head coach Ashish Nehra is expected to use him mainly on the larger grounds where cutters and change of pace come into play.
Prithvi Raj’s side strain, picked up during a training session, is understood to need a fortnight of rest, ruling him out of the opening leg. Titans calculated it was safer to replace him now rather than juggle fitness risks later.
Neither move will dominate headlines, yet both are a reminder that an IPL squad is as much about managing bodies as it is about star power. For Saini it is a chance to press restart; for Khejroliya, simply a continuation. The league, as ever, rolls on.
