Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Abhishek Nayar was impressed as to how committed spinner Varun Chakravarthy was to the team.
Varun Chakravarthy has struggled for consistency amid playing with injuries.
He has taken just 10 wickets from as many matches at an economy rate of 8.78. Varun is playing the ongoing IPL 2026 with two broken fingers and one broken toe.
“I do not think my words will do justice to it. For him to go through injury, endure a difficult start to the season, and then come back into form is a testament to how strong he is as a character.
“He has already broken quite a few bones during this tournament, specifically two fingers, and now his toe,” Abhishek Nayar told reporters ahead of KKR’s must-win match against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Kolkata on Sunday.
‘Varun is highly motivated’: Abhishek Nayar
“I always say the toughest characters learn to overcome pain and adversity, and that is exactly what Varun is. He is someone who is highly motivated and feels very deeply for the franchise, too. He has been an integral part of the team, and I think he understands that.
“He is very emotional when it comes to this team and everyone associated with it. That is the thought process behind his wanting to continue rather than forcing himself to do so.
Sometimes players are not keen to push through, but he has been very keen because of the love he has for the city and the franchise,” he explained. Prior to the IPL 2026 season, the Tamil Nadu spinner enjoyed a stellar start to India’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.
He took nine wickets from the first four matches, but began leaking runs from then on. In the semi-finals against England in Mumbai, Varun Chakravarthy even endured figures of 1/64 from four overs.
In the ongoing season of the IPL, Varun registered his best bowling figures of 3/14 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Eden Gardens. However, compared to the IPL 2025 season, where he took 17 wickets from 13 matches, this season has been mediocre.
KKR playoff chances
Kolkata Knight Riders themselves are in a spot of bother as far as their IPL playoff hopes are concerned. KKR had begun IPL 2026 with five losses in their first six matches (Their match against Punjab Kings was washed out due to rain).
However, they have since made quite a remarkable turnaround, winning six out of their next seven matches.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side are currently in sixth place with 13 points from as many matches, and they will need to beat Delhi Capitals by a huge margin on Sunday to get to 15 points. They will then have to hope that Rajasthan Royals lose to Mumbai Indians (MI) in Sunday’s earlier match. Should RR beat MI, then the Riyan Parag-led side qualifies for the playoffs as they will have 16 points.