Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis called three-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) bowling "a massive red flag" ahead of IPL 2026. His remarks follow Mustafizur Rahman's release from the KKR squad, and Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana dealing with injuries. Referring to the pace-bowling crisis, he added, "You can't just have batting resources and no bowling resources."