Varun Chakaravarthy can’t even jog without hobbling. On May 8, he hurt his left foot. In a bid to stop a boundary, he instinctively put his foot in his follow-through. Chakaravarthy finished his quota of overs and didn’t go for runs either, but hobbled off the field.
Varun Chakaravarthy braves injury for KKR
Subsequently, he missed the next match for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, at that point, the 3-time Indian Premier League (IPL) had finally picked up steam. After failing to win even one of their first 6 matches, KKR went on a run, winning 4 on the trot.
INJURY UPDATE OF VARUN CHAKARAVARTHY He has a fracture in his left toeThe one he lands on while bowling and that is causing him trouble pic.twitter.com/RumvdRIT3n
— KKR Karavan (@KkrKaravan) May 13, 2026The one game Chakaravarthy missed, KKR lost. There was a small hope that they would make the IPL 2026 Playoffs. So, despite sustaining a hairline fracture, he returned to play. He hasn’t looked at his best, often bowling shorter than expected, but it’s clear that KKR prefer an injured Chakaravarthy over any other spinner in their squad.
The move has worked. With just one league stage game left, KKR can still qualify for the playoffs. Shane Watson, KKR’s assistant coach, realises this and has heaped praise on the mystery spinner for braving through his injury for the team.
“Well, I’m not exactly sure of where he is on his rehab journey at the moment. All I do know is he’s obviously playing through a bit of pain at the moment, which just shows how brave he is, how much he wants to be here to be able to contribute for KKR, and he’s still bowling beautifully,” Watson told reporters in Kolkata after KKR beat the Mumbai Indians.
Chakaravarthy didn’t have the best of starts. He was wicketless in the first 3 games but roared back with 10 wickets in the next 4 matches. Battling injury, he hasn’t taken another scalp in the last 3 games. But that’s expected since he isn’t at his best. Watson also hinted that it’s Chakaravarthy himself who wants to play, and KKR aren’t forcing him to play.
“It’s been brilliant to be able to see (Varun’s) turnaround from the first few games of the season to then the impact he’s been able to consistently have every single game. And we are so lucky to be able to have someone of Varun’s skill and also his desperation to be able to be here and to play for KKR, because with the pain that he’s managing, he could have easily just said, ‘Look, I don’t want to be a part of this; I’m just going to go and rest it.’ So, we’re very fortunate that he’s all in, and he’s done a brilliant job again tonight,” he added.
Varun Chakaravarthy’s injury timeline in IPL 2026
Suffered a hand injury while fielding on April 2 vs SRH Misses 2 matches (April 6 vs PBKS, April 9 vs LSG) Plays the next 6 matches with two fractures on the right hand until injuring his foot on May 8 Misses 1 match (May 13 vs RCB) Plays 2 matches with a hairline fracture in the left foot (May 16 vs GT, May 20 vs MI)Varun Chakaravarthy playing with injury out of ‘desperation’ to take KKR to IPL 2026 Playoffs Inside Sport India.
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