Kolkata Knight Riders are hopeful about their Caribbean players arriving in time for their IPL 2026 opener against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on March 29.
The international flight schedule has gone haywire owing to limited airspaces in West Asia following the US-Israel conflict with Iran. It has already delayed the arrival of Sunil Narine, one of KKR’s premier stars.
Former West Indies T20I captain Rovman Powell is the other Caribbean player in the Knights ranks, with Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell being mentor and power coach, respectively.
Bravo joined the squad on Wednesday, arriving from Amsterdam, and also took part in the team’s first training session ahead of this year’s IPL. But despite tensions around air travel, the Knights believe Narine, Powell and Russell will be able to join the rest of the group by early next week.
“The flight schedule is changing very frequently, which is leading to this delay. But we still hope the three of them will be able to join us by March 24,” a KKR source said on the sidelines of the team’s training session, at Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening.
The Knights’ New Zealand trio — Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra — along with bowling coach Tim Southee are set to arrive on Thursday, alongside KKR’s other trump card, Varun Chakravarthy.
Australia seamer all-rounder Cameron Green, who the Knights roped in at ₹25.2 crore, is expected to reach on Friday.
Green, expected to play an important role for the three-time champions this year, found some form with a 135 for Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales a few
days ago. That should give him some confidence, especially after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, though he reportedly scoffed at a newsperson on being asked about it.
Pathirana rehab
With Harshit Rana most likely to be ruled out of this edition, the Knight Riders are still optimistic of availaing the services of Sri Lankan quick Matheesha Pathirana at some stage in the competition. The 23-year-old is currently undergoing rehabilitation under Sri Lanka Cricket’s supervision. On getting the green light from the Sri Lankan Board, Pathirana would join KKR for the remainder of his rehabilitation before he’s fit to play.
The Knights have also called up quicks Sandeep Warrier and KM Asif for trials. Both were present during the opening day’s practice, alongside the towering Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Rinku
Singh, Rahul Tripathi and captain Ajinkya Rahane among others.
Season’s goal
This year’s IPL will also be a stern test for Abhishek Nayar, who has returned to the Knights fold as head coach. The task won’t be easy for Nayar, but all he wants from his players is the winning mentality and aim at a fourth IPL crown.
Nayar was the Knights’ assistant coach when they won their third IPL title in 2024.
“We have worked very hard, put in a lot of effort and worked on our skills in the last couple of months (during the pre-season camp in Mumbai early this year). For me, what happens from hereon is how we tune what’s between our ears. Our skills won’t change in 10 days, but what changes is our mentality.
“Every moment we spend with each other, there is just one goal: to win and get that fourth star. And we do everyting to prepare our mind before our body actually arrives at the first game on the 29th,” the head coach said at a team huddle, which was shared on the Knights’ X handle.
The experience of Shane Watson, who has joined KKR as assistant coach, will also be hugely beneficial to the team, Nayar believes.
