Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy pushed through pain again to feature in their must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 game against Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 21. Risking aggravating a hairline fracture in his leg, Chakaravarthy delivered four economical overs for KKR before he was subbed out. While there is debate over whether a centrally contracted player should play while battling an injury for the IPL franchise, KKR assistant coach Shane Watson lauded the spinner’s commitment. However, he is not sure where the 34-year-old is on his rehabilitation journey.
"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 said in the post-match press conference.
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Watson has been impressed with Chakaravarthy’s comeback in the season after a few wicketless outings. He pointed out that the spinner could’ve easily said that he can’t play but he is desperate to contribute to the team.
"It's been brilliant to be able to see [Varun's] turnaround from the first few games of the season [he had none for 105 after the first three games before getting on a roll], 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 robbed of Tilak’s wicket
Against MI, Chakaravarthy created a chance to dismiss Tilak Varma. However, when Chakaravarthy had managed to catch the ball, it slipped out of his grasp after upon collision with wicketkeeper Angkrish Raghuvanshi. In his quota of four overs, he went for 28 runs.
Injured Varun to play again
Considering the next game could be a must-win for KKR if Rajasthan Royals (RR) lose to Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 24, Chakaravarthy may look to push through the pain again and play against Delhi Capitals (DC).
From nine games, he has taken 10 wickets at an average of 29.70. His economy rate is nine runs per over.