New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Vidarbha Saurabh Dubey As a replacement for Akash Deep in IPL 2026, Cricbuzz reported. Akash Deep was ruled out of the match as he failed to recover in time from a stress injury in his lower back.While Dubey has been named as a replacement, KKR is yet to make an official statement. The report further states that the 28-year-old is already training at the Knight Riders training camp in Kolkata.
The Vidarbha pacer was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad after being acquired for Rs 20 lakh in the IPL 2022 auction, although he has not played a match and is yet to make his IPL debut.
Who is Saurabh Dubey ?
Dubey is a left-arm medium-fast bowler who represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket. He played 8 Group A matches and 3 T20 matches while also taking 16 wickets in 8 first-class matches.He participated in the IPL 2026 mini-auction with a base price of Rs 30 lakh but failed to sell.Dubey also participated in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2019 in Bangladesh with the Indian team. In his A-list debut against Nepal, he took 4 for 26 to help India win by 7 wickets and was named Man of the Match. He ended the tournament with seven wickets in three games.

