The clock is ticking towards the start of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The 19th edition of the IPL will get underway in Bengaluru on 28 March with a match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Bengaluru.
With the start of the new IPL season getting closer and closer, all 10 teams have begun their preparations in full swing. However, some of these teams are facing a few hurdles even before the season has got underway.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are among the teams who have been affected due to injuries to certain players.
Without further ado, we delve into the complete list of players who have been ruled out of the tournament, or is partially unavailable.
Full list of ruled out/unavailable players for IPL 2026
Harshit Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders): Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana will miss the entire IPL 2026 season due to a knee injury.
He sustained the injury during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on 4 February.
Matheesha Pathirana (Kolkata Knight Riders): Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana will miss the start of IPL 2026 after sustaining a calf injury during the T20 World Cup match against Australia in February.
KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar, during a press conference on Friday, said that Pathirana will be available only by the middle of April.
Mustafizur Rahman (Kolkata Knight Riders): Mustafizur Rahman was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹9.20 crore at the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
However, KKR later released him because of the political tensions between India and Bangladesh. Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani has replaced the Bangladesh speedster in the KKR squad.
Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood will miss the start of IPL 2026 with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru because of an injury.
Hazlewood has been recovering from persistent hamstring and Achilles injuries. The veteran cricketer is set to be out of action at least until mid-April.
Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Pat Cummins, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain, suffered a lower back injury which forced him to miss Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign. While a return date has not been confirmed, it is likely that Cummins will miss at least the first three matches of the season.
Jack Edwards (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards will miss the entire IPL 2026 season due to a foot injury. Sunrisers Hyderabad had acquired him for ₹3 crore.
Lockie Ferguson (Punjab Kings): New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson will miss the first few matches of IPL 2026 to spend time with his family. Ferguson recently became a father after his wife gave birth to a son.
Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals): Mitchell Starc will miss the first few matches of IPL 2026 with Delhi Capitals due to workload management. Having played all five Ashes Tests in the 2025-26 season, Cricket Australia is managing the pacer’s workload, hence his absence from the first few matches.
Nathan Ellis (Chennai Super Kings): Nathan Ellis, whom CSK had acquired for ₹2 crore, has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2026 season due to a hamstring injury.
Josh Inglis (Lucknow Super Giants): Josh Inglis was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for ₹8.60 crore after Punjab Kings released him.
Before the IPL 2026 mini-auction, Inglis had informed the BCCI and Punjab Kings that he would be available for just four matches because of his wedding in April. However, Punjab Kings were far from happy with this development, and were forced to release him.
With Inglis set to get married on 18 April, he is set to miss a significant portion of IPL 2026.
Sam Curran (Rajasthan Royals): A suspected groin injury has ruled England’s Sam Curran out of IPL 2026 with Rajasthan Royals (RR).
