IPL 2026: Will Varun Chakravarthy play vs RCB? Massive update on KKR mystery spinner

NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a must-win IPL 2026 clash at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. KKR, currently eighth on the points table with four wins, five losses and nine points, need victories in all their remaining matches to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The franchise will also be hoping star spinner Varun Chakravarthy recovers in time for the crucial fixture against RCB.

Will Chakravarthy play against RCB? KKR are sweating on his fitness ahead of the contest.

Assistant coach Shane Watson said Chakravarthy, who aggravated an injury in his left leg during the previous match, remains doubtful for the game.

“He's just being monitored at the moment. Obviously he was sore the second last game and the last game he was in a lot of pain, even though he still bowled incredibly well,” Watson said.

“We've got our fingers crossed that he will be available for tomorrow, but we're just still not exactly sure.”

Watson was also effusive in his praise for young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, describing his skill level as “astonishing”.

“His skill development as a 21-year-old, it's quite astonishing to be honest. It's mind blowing for me to be able to see his ability to adapt to different conditions, to different bowlers and have all the skill options and shot options to be able to navigate that as well as he possibly can.”

Watson added that KKR have finally begun to settle as a unit after a slow start to the season and expressed confidence that the side can still make a late push for the IPL playoffs.

“To be totally honest, we haven't talked about anything like in the future at all,” Watson said ahead of the match against defending champions RCB.

“From where we were halfway through the tournament to the cricket that we've been playing over the last couple of games in particular, it's been very impressive to be able to see our group really come together across all facets.

“We're all optimistic and know that there's been teams that have come and raged into the finals after not starting the season that well. The history of IPL has shown that, so we certainly know that that's possible.”

Watson said the squad needed time to adjust after major changes following the auction.

“It was always going to take a bit of time for everyone to really work out where everyone fits into the squad and the team because there's quite a bit of turnover from last season to this season,” he said.