The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just around the corner. As all teams have nearly geared up for the rich cash league. Ahead of the IPL, three-time IPL winners, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), held their first press conference ahead of their opening game against the Mumbai Indians on March 29, at the Wankhede Stadium.

Head coach Abhishek Nayar, Assistant coach Shane Watson, mentor Dwayne Bravo, and captain Ajinkya Rahane were present at the press conference. During the press conference, head coach Abhishek Nayar revealed whether KKR would be picking any replacement for Harshit Rana ahead of the IPL 2026.

KKR head coach provides update on Harshit Rana

Harshit Rana was ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 due to ligament strain in his right knee during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa. He has undergone surgery and was seen using a support while walking during the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Naman Awards.

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“Firstly, it’s a big blow because Harshit has been an integral part of this team for the last few seasons. All these years, he has grown into a good cricketer. We’ll always miss Harshit Rana, and it’s not easy to replace him,” Nayar told the media on Friday in Kolkata.

The decision will be made soon- Abhishek Nayar

“Having said that, we have looked at a few bowlers over the past few days. We are trying to evaluate, with the help of our leadership group, who fits in and who can play that role to the best of their abilities. So we are still evaluating that and have yet to make that decision. But hopefully, we can identify who can make a difference,” he added.

Nayar also stated that the KKR pacer is currently at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, and an announcement regarding his replacement is likely to be made within the next couple of days after assessing the bowlers who are on trial at the Eden Gardens and might feature in the first practice match for the side today. He further said, “The decision will be made soon, maybe in a couple of days.”

Harshit Rana’s IPL record for KKR

Harshit Rana has been one of the premier bowlers for the Knights in the last few seasons, especially in the middle and death overs. His slower balls and cutters have been effective. He has been an integral part of the KKR setup, and due to his amazing performances in the IPL, he has been an all-format player for India as well.

Harshit Rana has played 34 games for the Purple and Gold, picking up 40 wickets for the franchise. His best season was back in 2024, when the Knights won their first title as he picked 19 wickets in that IPL edition.

KKR also provided an update on Matheesha Pathirana, who is still rehabbing from the hamstring injury as he is set to join the squad around mid-April. The Knights will be looking for a winning start in their first game.

Also Read: Venkatesh Iyer becomes headache for Virat Kohli and RCB ahead of IPL 2026

Inside the IIT-Bombay campus in Powai where he once spent four years, alumnus Rajan Verma is reading a book that does not belong to him. Titled ‘Zero To One’, it was kept in the nearby ‘reading corner’ of the campus post office—a mini library stacked with bestsellers. As he waits for a friend to post a parcel, Verma, now a techie with a leading software firm, scans the room for nostalgia and finds none. A far cry from the cobwebbed cables and creaking cupboards of every post office he’s known, many things about the space are pleasantly unrecognisable.The steel perforated seat he’s sitting on, for instance, has replaced an uninviting wooden bench. Diagonally opposite, the former Aadhaar enrolment cabin now hosts a guitar, beanbags and a slender coffee machine. “Delivery flex”, reads a nearby sign. Another proclaims: “A red letter box is better than red flags”. The wall behind him—flaky and chipped in his student days—carries a freshly painted thought bubble: “Retro roots revamped in Gen Z vibes”. If the puns, tripods and ringlights don’t give it away, a nook inviting visitors to get their photos printed on 12 personalised stamps for Rs 300 seals it. The IIT-B post office—the only ‘Gen Z post office’ in Maharashtra—is part of a nationwide initiative by India Post to reimagine the humble post office for a younger audience. Now called NGen—short for Next Generation— the programme began as ‘Gen Z’ before being renamed to broaden its reach. “We didn’t want to portray it as targeting just one generation,” says an India Post official. “The idea is to connect to the new generation, the next generation—and even those after that.” The push, he says, came directly from Jyotiraditya Scindia, minister of communications, who wanted to shift the perception of postal services. “The general mindset is still ‘purana hai’. Over the years, the youth connect has been lost somewhere. So, the idea was to rebuild it.” Educational campuses proved the most natural starting point. Many large institutes—from IITs to IIMs—already had post offices serving students and faculty. “Students use them for sending parcels or documents, especially when they graduate and send things back home. We wanted to make it a place where students could come, relate to the space and spend time,” says another official. The first to be transformed was the IIT-Delhi campus post office, which was redesigned by students of its fine arts department, whose ideas have shaped the graffiti, interior themes and promotional material. Free Wi-Fi access, dedicated student service counters, parcel packing services and discounted Speed Post document services now make the facility more contemporary and accessible. The results were immediate: when Scindia visited, nearly 80% of the hundred-odd students in the room had already been to their campus post office. Since last Nov, 46 such spaces have opened across the country, with a target of 100 by the end of the financial year. The redesigned post offices feature free WiFi, coffee counters, board games and magazines—something closer to a campus common room than a govt counter. “This is mainly an outreach exercise. The idea is that students come, read books, hang out with friends—and also use the services,” says an official. At Bengaluru’s Acharya Institute of Technology, where students redesigned the campus post office wall by wall, Keerthi Shri, who is in the second semester, says, “Earlier the post office looked very plain. Now, students say it feels like coming to a ‘hi-fi office’.” Kerala leads the way, with three NGen post offices already running. “The number of account openings has gone up since the makeover,” says Rahul IPoS, senior sub-postmaster, Trivandrum north division, who oversees the NGen post office at Government Engineering College. The redesigns have also quietly revived older habits. At IIM-Gandhinagar, sub-postmaster Kruti Mehta has watched the number of students sending parcels home rise steadily since the makeover. “Students prefer post office for sending books and clothes—it’s cheaper, and flights allow only 15kg,” she says. In Bengaluru, students have started writing postcards to their families again. Keerthi has opened a postal savings account. “I’ve deposited Rs 2,000,” she says, happy to join her mother and sister as a post office account holder. In Powai, postwoman Ashwini Shinde—who has been working there for 16 years—says she likes to return to a colourful office. Does she use the guitar room? “I can’t play,” she says. Meanwhile, sub-postmaster Kavita Tawde opens the complaints and suggestions register that is now buzzing with compliments. One entry stands out—from Joginder Singh, who introduces himself as “a resident of the IIT market since 1968”: “Today, it was great to see my post office clean and bright. I wish to see it always this way.”

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NEW DELHI: Election Commission, acting on directions of Supreme Court and recommendations of Calcutta HC chief justice, on Friday constituted 19 appellate tribunals for hearing appeals against orders passed by designated judicial officers in Bengal in respect of inclusion or exclusion of prospective electors in the state’s electoral roll.Consequent upon the publication of the supplementary electoral roll – after adjudication of ‘doubtful’ cases under SIR by judicial officers – an appellant may file appeals against the orders passed by the designated judicial officers, said EC in a notification issued on Friday.The tribunals, which will hear appeals as per districts or a set of districts, will be headed by former judges, including ex-HC chief justice T S Sivagnanam, who will preside over the appellate tribunal for 24 Parganas North (assembly constituency-wise) and Kolkata districts.The tribunals, likely to be operational by Monday, will be in existence till all appeals are disposed of. Given that the electoral roll is frozen on the last day of nomination, the supplementary lists should be out at the latest by a day prior to the issue of poll notification, giving a week to the tribunals to hear appeals.In case the appeals are decided by the last day of nomination – April 6 for phase 1 and April 9 for phase 2 – those approved for inclusion in the rolls by the tribunals shall be able to vote in the upcoming elections.For those who don’t pass the tribunal test or don’t have their appeals heard before this deadline, the implications are much more than just not being able to vote. If the tribunals rule them as ineligible to be in the roll – essentially for being non-citizens – they will have to be confined to detention centres and deported to their country of origin.Sources in the commission said the tribunals needed to be set up before the supplementary lists were published to offer clarity to those included or excluded from the supplementary list on how and where to file an appeal. As per the EC notification, the appeal may be filed online through the ECINet platform or physically at the office of the DMdistrict magistrate, SDM or SDO concerned.While one tribunal each has been constituted for Purba Medinipur, Coochbehar, Purba Bardhaman, Nadia, Howrah, Dakshin Dinajpur, 24 Parganas South, Hooghly, Paschim Bardhaman, Uttar Dinajpur, Birbhum and Malda districts; four tribunals will hear appeals for two sets of districts; the combination being 24 Parganas (AC wise) and Kolkata; Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar; Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram; and Purulia and Bankura.