Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed Vidarbha's Saurabh Dubey as a replacement for the injured Akash Deep ahead of IPL 2026. Akash, bought for ₹1 crore at the IPL 2026 auction, has been ruled out due to a lower-back injury. Dubey was previously part of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) after being picked for ₹20 lakh in the IPL 2022 season.