Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Varun Chakravarthy has revealed that he battled through fractures on his left hand as he bowled one of his best spells in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the game against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. The Tamil Nadu spinner wasn’t in the greatest of form before this match, and his performance had been sub-par. However, VC bounced back with a match-winning spell, and he revealed that he had to endure much pain during the course of it.
Chakravarthy braves through fractures to produce fine spell
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Chakravarthy revealed that he still has two fractures in his left hand. Chakravarthy had missed two games earlier, and the reason is now apparent. Varun was instrumental in dismantling the RR top-order, as he got rid of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag.
“It was a little slow today, suited us. But initially, in the first few matches, I was injured, I had two fractures. I still have two fractures in my left hand. So I’m just trying to manage that. Yeah, so it is a little tough, but I’m just trying to manage. I would say it was a little slow, but it was perfectly suitable for us, and we made the most of it,” Varun said.
Varun Chakaravarthy in IPL 2026
| Opposition | Overs | Wickets | Runs | Economy | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RR | 4 | 3 | 14 | 3.50 | 4.66 |
| GT | 4 | 2 | 34 | 8.50 | 17 |
| CSK | 3 | 0 | 26 | 8.70 | – |
| SRH | 2 | 0 | 31 | 15.50 | – |
| MI | 4 | 0 | 48 | 14.00 | – |
Chakravarthy also became the fastest Indian spinner to reach 200 T20 wickets, overtaking Kuldeep Yadav. The DC spinner took 160 innings to breach the 200-wicket mark while Varun has taken just 155.
Fastest Indians to 200 T20 wickets (by innings)
- Arshdeep Singh – 151
- Varun Chakravarthy – 155
- Kuldeep Yadav – 160
- Jaydev Unadkat – 162
- Mohammed Shami – 165
Before this innings, Chakravarthy was in poor form. His performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 wasn’t that commendable. Varun was quite expensive and couldn’t prove his worth as a ‘mystery spinner’. After clinching 9 wickets in 4 matches in the initial stage of the tournament, he only managed to take 5 wickets in the Super 8 stage, the semi-final, and the final. In IPL 2026, he featured in the first two games, after which he was dropped. Reports claimed that he had been left out of the playing XI due to an injury sustained while taking a catch off Abhishek Sharma, but speculations suggested that he was dropped because he was out of form.
Varun Chakaravarthy T20 bowling stats (February 20 to April 18)
| Innings | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Best Figures | Average | Economy | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 32 | 364 | 7 | 2/34 | 52 | 11.37 | 27.4 |
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