KKR is preparing 3 bowlers in place of Harshit Rana, one bowler bowls at a speed of 140 km per hour.

Kolkata. KKR has included pacers Simarjeet Singh, KM Asif and experienced Sandeep Warrier in its team to fill the place of injured Harshit Rana in the upcoming IPL. KKR's fast bowling has suffered a big blow due to Rana's right knee injury. He suffered this injury in India's T20 World Cup practice match against South Africa. He has undergone surgery and is currently in rehabilitation. There is no fixed time for his return to the field.

In view of Rana's absence, KKR team is thinking of other options. Simarjeet has played for Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has taken 11 wickets in 14 IPL matches. Asif and Warrier were called for trials during KKR's first training session at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Whereas Simarjeet had impressed everyone with his bowling in the first phase of the trials held in Mumbai. This entire process was supervised by the team's scouting heads Biju George and Manvinder Bisla.

Asif gave the best performance of his career against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking five wickets for 24 runs and he bowls at a speed of 140 km per hour. This 32-year-old bowler made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings in 2018. He has taken seven wickets in seven matches so far. The 34-year-old Warrior made his debut for KKR in 2019 and has since been a part of the team for three seasons apart from a stint with Gujarat Titans.

He has taken eight wickets in 10 IPL matches. There is also uncertainty regarding the availability of Sri Lankan fast bowler Mathisha Pathirana as he has not yet received approval from Sri Lanka Cricket. This bowler, who was bought for Rs 18 crore, suffered a calf injury while playing against Australia during the T20 World Cup, due to which he left the field after bowling four overs. A team source said, 'He has not yet confirmed his joining the team. We are in constant touch with them and tickets are being booked and canceled for them almost every day.

KKR also no longer has left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who was released on the instructions of BCCI earlier this year. In his place, Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani has been included in the team. The team captained by Ajinkya Rahane has started training with the new support staff. Abhishek Nair is the head coach, Shane Watson will be the assistant coach and Tim Southee has become the bowling coach. Dwayne Bravo will remain as team mentor. The training session started with a team huddle in which Nair addressed the players.

A special thing in the coaching setup is that the team's explosive batsman Andre Russell will be seen as a non-player (power coach) for the first time. The team will get further strength from three New Zealand players Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra. These three players will join the team on Thursday after their stellar performance in the T20 World Cup. Indian spinner Varun Chakraborty will also join the team on Thursday while the team's most expensive player, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green will join the team on Friday.

West Indies players Sunil Narine, Rovman Powell and Russell will join the team on March 24. KKR will start its campaign against Mumbai Indians on 29 March. After this, the team will play its first home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2 in which team owner Shahrukh Khan is expected to be present.