Massive blow to KKR ahead of must-win IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals, Angkrish Raghuvanshi ruled out with injury

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) received a massive blow ahead of their final Indian Premier League (IPL) group-stage match in the ongoing season after Angkrish Raghuvanshi was ruled out of the game against Delhi Capitals. Raghuvanshi sustained a fractured finger after he collided with Varun Chakaravarthy while attempting a catch against Mumbai Indians at home.

“Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been ruled out of 2026 TATA Indian Premier League after sustaining a concussion and a fracture to a finger on his left hand while attempting a catch during Kolkata Knight Riders’ match against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, 20 May,” a KKR statement read on Friday.

With no Raghuvanshi, it has really become an headache for the KKR management to look for a replacement for the game on Sunday and also hampered their combination. Raghuvanshi has been the best batter for KKR in IPL 2026 with 422 runs in 12 matches.

Raghuvanshi averaged of 42.20 and had a strike rate of 146.52. Coming to bat at no.3, Raghuvanshi cored five fifties with a best of 82 not out against Gujarat Titans.

What happened to Angkrish Raghuvanshi?

The incident happened in the 11th over of KKR's penultimate home game against Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in the first innings. Against Varun Chakaravarthy, Mumbai Indians' Tilak Varma sat down to play a slog sweep. But the ball went high up in the air with both Varun and Raghuvanshi going for the catch.

With no communication between the two, Varun catches the ball with both hands, but Raghuvanshi ran all the way from behind and collided with the former. As a result, the ball bumped off Varun's hands. In the process, Raghuvanshi appeared to have taken the hit while diving full length.

Although the Mumbai cricketer initially continued to keep wickets, but eventually had to be replaced in the 14th over as Raghuvanshi went for the treatment. Tejasvi Singh replaced Raghuvanshi as a concussion substitute and kept wickets for the remainder of the Mumbai Indians innings.

During the chase, Tejasvi came out to bat after the fall of Rovman Powell and contributed with 11 runs in the victory. It will interesting to see if KKR continue with Tejasvi against Delhi Capitals.

Can KKR qualify for IPL 2026 playoffs?

After going winless in their first six games, KKR bounced back with six wins from in their nest seven games. Their match against Punjab Kings was washed out due to rain. With 13 points in 13 games, KKR are still in contention for playoffs qualification.

A win on Sunday will take them to 15 points. But at the same time, KKR need Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings to lose their respective final game in the group stage. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have already qualified for IPL 2026 playoffs.

Catch the live updates from IPL 2026 with the complete IPL 2026 Schedule and the IPL 2026 Points Table. Also, know who are currently leading the charts in IPL 2026 Orange Cap and IPL 2026 Purple Cap.