Why is Varun Chakravarthy not playing today? The KKR mystery spinner is doubtful for tonight’s KKR vs LSG clash at Eden Gardens due to a finger injury on his left hand, sustained while fielding against Sunrisers Hyderabad last week. The Varun Chakravarthy injury update from KKR confirms his participation won’t happen today.
Why Is Varun Chakravarthy Not Playing Today?
Varun injured the little finger on his left hand during the SRH match on April 2 and has been seen with heavy taping across the hand since. He missed the KKR vs PBKS match that was eventually washed out on April 6, sitting in the dugout with his hand bandaged. KKR’s medical team has been working closely with him, and the franchise confirmed he bowled his full set in training on Wednesday — but the taping remained, suggesting he is not fully fit.
“Varun Chakravarthy is still recovering from his hand injury, but Sunil Narine comes back for us,” said Ajinkya Rahane at the KKR vs LSG toss. This is the only change to the KKR playing XI from the previous game.
ALSO READ: KKR vs LSG Weather Report, Eden Gardens Pitch Report & Rain Update
Varun Chakravarthy’s Poor Form Since The T20 World Cup
Even before the injury, is Varun Chakravarthy injured in form more than in body? The numbers paint a concerning picture. Varun has been wicketless in both IPL 2026 matches — conceding 48 runs in four overs against MI and then leaking 31 runs in just two overs against SRH, where Abhishek Sharma hit him for two sixes and three fours in a single over.
This slump stretches back to the T20 World Cup 2026. Varun started the tournament brilliantly — nine wickets in four group-stage matches at an economy rate just over 5. But from the Super Eight stage onwards, his form fell off a cliff: five wickets in five matches with his economy rate doubling. Batters figured him out, and he hasn’t been able to reset since.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been vocal about the situation. After the SRH match, Pathan criticised captain Ajinkya Rahane’s handling of Varun, arguing that bowling him in the powerplay against set batters destroyed his confidence further. Pathan noted that Rahane was essentially giving Varun the toughest possible assignment when the spinner was already struggling, calling it a misstep in captaincy.
However, Pathan has also backed Varun to come good, saying the challenge is about restoring the spinner’s belief and that Varun could rediscover his best in familiar Kolkata surroundings. In 83 IPL matches for KKR, Varun has taken 99 wickets at an average of 23.74 — the pedigree is undeniable.
“Even if Varun [Chakravarthy] has injured the little finger of his left hand, he bowls with his right hand. So you should back him and give him that confidence. Rishabh Pant has a strike rate of around 100 against Varun Chakaravarthy, has gotten out to Varun Chakaravarthy thrice in six innings. This is an opportunity for Kolkata to back Varun,” Irfan said on his YouTube channel.
Sunil Narine Returns For KKR vs LSG
The good news for KKR is that Sunil Narine is back. The veteran all-rounder missed the PBKS match due to an abdominal illness but has fully recovered and trained over the last two days. Narine’s return gives KKR their most reliable spinner back — the PBKS game was the first time since 2019 that both Narine and Varun were absent from a KKR XI.
Additionally, Cameron Green is expected to bowl for the first time this season after completing his workload management programme with Cricket Australia. This could be one of the reasons why Blessing Muzarabani has been swapped out for Narine in the line-up. Rovman Powell retains his place to beef up the batting.
Ajinkya Rahane confirmed this at the KKR vs LSG toss. “The combination gets better [with Green bowling], so Rovman Powell plays, when Cam Green bowls then we have that extra bowler with us.”
If Varun Chakravarthy is not playing today, KKR will likely go with Narine and Anukul Roy as their spin pair, with Green adding pace-bowling depth. It’s not the spin twin-threat KKR are built around, but it’s a significant improvement on the PBKS game where only Anukul Roy shouldered the spin burden.
Beyond Varun, Blessing Muzarabani is also not playing today — dropped for a tactical reason after Cameron Green was cleared to bowl.
KKR vs LSG Toss Update And Playing XI
Lucknow Super Giants win the KKR vs LSG toss and opt to bowl first at Eden Gardens.
KKR vs LSG Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact subs – Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert
Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
Lucknow Super Giants Impact subs – Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmad, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh
Follow the KKR vs LSG live scorecard on IPLT20.com for ball-by-ball updates.
With KKR sitting ninth in the IPL 2026 playoff scenarios with just 1 point from three matches, they cannot afford another game without their best players on the park. Whether Varun plays or not, KKR need a win tonight.
For the complete fixture list and match timings, check our IPL 2026 schedule.
