Less than 2 weeks remain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Pre-season camps are underway, but not everyone is present. Half of the franchises have been hit with injuries.
Several fast bowlers, both domestic and foreign, might as well miss the initial phase of the IPL 2026 or the entire tournament. Mumbai Indians (MI) have already lost one member, left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who has undergone knee surgery.
But Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have even more issues. None of their players are officially out of IPL 2026, but some have major injury concerns.
IPL 2026 injury list
| Team | Players | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RCB | Josh Hazlewood | Set to miss initial matches |
| Nuwan Thusara | Yet to get NOC from SLC | |
| KKR | Harshit Rana | Ruled out |
| Matheesha Pathirana | Received NOC from SLC | |
| LSG | Wanindu Hasaranga | Yet to clear fitness test by SLC |
| SRH | Pat Cummins | Set to miss initial matches |
| Eshan Malinga | Yet to receive NOC from SLC | |
| Jack Edwards | Ruled out of IPL 2026 | |
| MI | Atharva Ankolekar | Ruled out of IPL 2026 |
| CSK | Nathan Ellis | Ruled out of IPL 2026 |
| Matthew Short | Fractured thumb, likely to miss a few games | |
| PBKS | Lockie Ferguson | – |
| RR | Sam Curran | Ruled out of IPL 2026 |
| DC | Mitchell Starc | Set to miss initial games (workload management) |
| GT | No one yet | – |
RCB
Defending champions RCB may not have the services of their foreign player, Josh Hazlewood. The Australian quick hasn’t played any competitive cricket since November and missed the entire Ashes 2025-26 and T20 World Cup 2026. Cricket Australia (CA) hasn’t cleared him to play in IPL 2026 yet. Meanwhile, fresh reports on social media suggest that Nuwan Thusara might not get an NOC from SLC.
KKR
In reality, KKR will be hit the hardest. Their INR 18 crore buy at the IPL 2026 auction, Matheesha Pathirana, hasn’t been cleared by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to play. There’s no timeline for his recovery either since he sustained a muscle injury in his left leg during the T20 World Cup.
Harshit Rana, their best domestic bowler, has reportedly been ruled out of the IPL 2026 already. Harshit had injured himself during a warm-up match and underwent surgery on his right knee on February 9.
LSG
Mohsin Khan hasn’t played a match since December 2024 and isn’t confirmed to play in the IPL 2026. He underwent knee surgery in July last year and has been under rehab since then. Mayank Yadav recently played two warm-up matches for India A, but considering his injury history, he can’t be confirmed to play. Meanwhile, Wanindu Hasaranga had sustained a hamstring tear during the T20 World Cup, and LSG or SLC hasn’t provided an update on him.
SRH
Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga both missed the entire T20 World Cup. Cummins, SRH captain, has played 1 match in the last 8 months. Like Hazlewood, CA hasn’t played him to play either. Malinga dislocated his shoulder in early February and isn’t certain to play in IPL 2026.
CSK
Australia death-bowling specialist Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the competition due to a hamstring issue. CSK CEO confirmed that the bowler would not be able to recover in time for the tournament due to an injury he picked up during a training session.
MI
As mentioned above, Ankolekar has been ruled out. MI haven’t named a replacement for him yet.
