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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy and the think tank’s tactics have come under scanner after they failed to defend a total of 220 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener. India’s legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble has questioned why Rahane didn’t introduce KKR’s mystery spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine in the powerplay overs when openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton were going all guns blazing. Kumble was surprised why Narine didn’t bowl his quota of four overs. He expects KKR to use their resources better, especially spinners as their fast-bowling stocks are depleted.
“KKR are relying too much on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, and Narine did not even complete his quota of four overs, which was surprising. The disappointing part was that Ajinkya Rahane did not bring him on in the Powerplay when Rohit and Rickelton were attacking. That is when you need your best bowler to get a breakthrough. By the time Narine came on, the damage was already done,” Kumble said on Star Sports.
“It is not easy to control the run-rate at Wankhede against such a strong side, so you need wickets to build pressure. Narine and Varun were the bowlers who could have challenged MI, but they did not bowl enough together. That is where KKR missed their chances to get back into the game. They need to use their resources better. Their fast-bowling unit looks inexperienced, but when you have two world class spinners, you need to use them well.”
Narine introduced late, Chakravarthy wicketless
Narine took the wicket of Tilak Varma. He bowled three overs and conceded 30 runs. Chakravarthy's struggle continued as he remained wicketless and conceded 48 runs from his quota of four overs. However, Chakravarthy did bowl one over in the powerplay overs where he conceded 15 runs after Rahane left the field, struggling with cramps. Narine was brought into the attack just after the powerplay overs when MI had already put 80 runs on the board. Narine went for eight runs in his first over.
KKR had another spinner in their ranks. Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy bowled 1.1 overs and conceded 15 runs. After the six-wicket loss, KKR will play their first home match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 2.
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