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Indian Premier League 2026 has given many chances for young Indian players to flourish, but few were sidelined after being plagued by injuries. One such player has been Akash Deep, who had to sit out the entire season with a stress injury to his lower back.

Akash Deep was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders for a sum of INR 1 crore prior to IPL 2026. But he did not get to make it onto the field as his injury didn't heal by the scheduled time. Saurabh Dubey was later called in as a replacement for him.

The pacer had a troubled couple of years with injuries. He first picked up the back injury in the year 2025 and had to sit out many matches, though he still got to represent India during the domestic season which included a Ranji Trophy campaign. The injury did flare up once again and he had to be ruled out from all forms of cricket for some time.

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Following his exclusion from IPL 2026, Akash Deep had to visit the BCCI Centre of Excellence at Bengaluru to recover. Reports say that the player has been making gradual progress but it might take three to four months to recover from the injury.

Hence, he will be unavailable for India's upcoming home fixtures which includes the one-off Test against the Afghanistan national cricket team and the subsequent tour of Sri Lanka. The first Test against Afghanistan is set to be held in June at the Mullanpur Stadium.

If all goes as planned, Akash Deep could return during the Duleep Trophy 2026, which is scheduled to be held in September. He will likely be monitored by the selectors to assess his fitness, should he feature in the tournament.

The Indian selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will decide whether to induct him into the Test setup following his recovery, or may well consider him for the New Zealand tour depending on his performance upon return.

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Following the unavailability of Akash Deep, India may well explore other options for the fast bowling attack against Afghanistan. The workload of Jasprit Bumrah may also be monitored closely to keep him fit for important series.

This might pave the way for players like Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj to step up and provide support to Mohammed Siraj. Akash Deep has been a consistent performer with the red ball with 28 wickets at a strike rate. His absence would be felt but his main aim would be to regain fitness.

Akash Deep would hope to return strong to the Indian setup.