Just as Kolkata Knight Riders were getting it right this season with four wins on the bounce, there appears to be a bit of worry in their camp.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy, a vital cog in the Knight Riders’ bowling group, seems to have aggravated the injury in his left leg and is doubtful for their next game, which is against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Wednesday. Footage of Varun walking with a crutch and wearing a protective boot on his left leg has appeared on social media.
From what was seen on those footage, Varun, who sustained the injury while trying to stop a shot from Ishan Kishan during the Sunrisers Hyderabad game in Hyderabad, could be sidelined for a certain period of time.
But with the Knights still needing to win all of their remaining games to qualify for the playoffs, they are expected to make one last-ditch effort to bring Varun back in the business end of the league phase.
In their previous game against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Varun was seen limping while bowling his fourth and final over, where he took a bit of stick from Ashutosh Sharma. “Varun was at our practice (in Raipur) today (Monday), but we’ll come to know tomorrow (Tuesday) if he could be available for the RCB clash,” a KKR source said.
Varun and his senior spin colleague Sunil Narine have played a leading role in KKR’s turnaround in this IPL after they were winless in their first six games. The conditions in Raipur are expected to assist quicks, something that was seen during Sunday’s clash between RCB and Mumbai
Indians. So, it won’t be surprising if the Knights bring in an extra seamer in place of Varun on Wednesday.
With Narine and Anukul Roy taking care of the spin department, a debut for left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey cannot be ruled out.