Why Is Harshit Rana Not In KKR Playing XI for IPL 2025 Match Against CSK?

Samarnath Soory

Last updated: May 7, 2025 - 3 min read

Harshit Rana has 13 wickets from 11 matches in IPL 2025

For the second match in a row, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have left out lead pacer Harshit Rana out of their playing XI.

They did so against Rajasthan Royals where he came on as the Impact Player substitution and claimed the key wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag who put KKR on the brink of defeat. Rana’s two wickets helped KKR stay in the match and finally won the match by a single run.

Harshit Rana Not In Playing XI For KKR vs CSK

Against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens, KKR named an unchanged XI. Besides Rana, there are other pace options on the Impact Players bench in the form of Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande. However, it is unlikely KKR will go beyond Rana as the Impact sub.

Rana has had a big impact in a sub-par IPL 2025 for KKR. Ajinkya Rahane’s side had a topsy-turvy campaign where they were unable to hide a slide to the middle of the table despite showing some promise.

KKR’s Playoffs Chances On Thin Ice

However, they needed to win all their remaining five matches since losing two matches in a row and then the home game against Punjab Kings got washed out due to a thunderstorm.

They managed to get the better of early pace-setters Delhi Capitals by 14 runs and then beat RR by their sheer grit. After a poor five balls by pacer Vaibhav Arora, Rinku Singh single-handedly rescued the tie for KKR with his throw from the deep to get a run-out.

They also had to credit Rana for turning things around with those crucial wickets of Parag and Hetmyer who kept taking the KKR spinners to the cleaners.

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Rana was among the key performers for KKR’s title run last year with 19 wickets from 13 matches. As a result, he debuted for India in all three formats since December last year.

For CSK, their campaign has been over and only they have pride to play for. The five-time champions have stayed rooted to the bottom having lost nine of their 11 matches in IPL 2025 so far.

KKR vs CSK Playing XI And Impact Players Bench

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Ravichandran Ashwin, MS Dhoni(w/c), Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana

Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Shivam Dube, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton, Deepak Hooda

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