Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane addressed allegations that the franchise was forcing spinner Varun Chakravarthy to play through an injury.
Rahane talked about Chakravarthy's injury concerns and the conversations that led to him playing through it. Rahane was talking to the broadcasters after KKR's loss to the Delhi Capitals on Sunday in the very last league stage match of IPL 2026.
The loss meant that KKR's final position on the points table was No. 7, a meagre improvement on the eighth-place finish from last year.
Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2, Varun Chakravarthy had gotten his hand injured while going for a catch. That injury left him with fractured fingers and made him eventually unable to play two matches in between.
The second injury came on May 3 during the return fixture against SRH. Varun was struck by the ball on his left toe and developed a hairline fracture there. He played most of the remaining matches with this injury and missed only one match in the second half of the tournament, against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 13.
Across the last few matches, Varun was seen limping from and to the cricket grounds and even during the matches. Head Coach Abhishek Nayar confirmed that Chakravarthy had been carrying the fracture. This gave rise to speculation that KKR may have forced the spinner to play through injury while their season was still alive.
"I'm not involved in that decision" - Ajinkya Rahane
After the match, Rahane said that letting Varun Chakravarthy play was not his decision, but rather the physios'.
Rahane said that the physiotherapists advised him that Varun Chakravarthy's injuries would not worsen if he took the field. Apart from this medical assurance, Rahane also said that Chakravarthy's wanting to play was another factor in his inclusion.
"See, our team's physios and the physios of BCCI, NCA and the Indian team, there was a discussion among them. I don't get involved in that at all. That's their department. My department is how's the player's mindset, does the player want to play or not, how big is the risk?" Rahane said.
"Yes, it's important to consider the health factor, to stay fit. Your injuries shouldn't increase. Yes, we think about that. But the physios felt that his injuries won't increase."
"Varun Cahkravarthy was eager to play, and he gets all the credit," Rahane said. "Because in that injury, you show how important the team is to you. Varun was completely ready. Yes, there was a match [vs RCB] where we had to give him a break because he was in a lot of pain. But he thought that he could play. That communication came from him."
"When the player says that he can play, there's a positive message to the physios and the team that he wants to play. I want to give Varun all the credit. He showed his eagerness to play. And the injury risk management team, the physios felt that his injuries won't increase," Rahane concluded.
Varun Chakravarthy in IPL 2026
Against DC on Sunday, Varun Chakravarthy finished with figures of 1/35 from his four overs.
After missing a total of three matches due to injuries, Varun ended IPL 2026 with 11 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 32.72 and an economy rate of 8.78.
Since joining KKR in 2020, this is his second-lowest wicket tally across an IPL season. The lowest was in 2022 when he took just 6 wickets in 11 matches. In his very first IPL season, in 2019, he took 1 wicket in 1 match before being ruled out due to an injury.
He played for the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) that year.
Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane sacked, Abhishek Nayar under scanner after IPL 2026 disaster: Report
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