The Kolkata Knight Riders have lacked bite in their bowling attack in their first two matches of IPL 2026. They lost both.
Yes, they are missing a few of their key pacers — Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Matheesha Pathirana — through injuries, but the ones who are playing are not all rookies and so their weak performances have caught the eye of many, including Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin, who doubted the Knights’ potency this season even before they played their first match, has now said that the three-time champions do not have a single bowler who can be trusted with the full quota of four overs.
Analysing the Knights’ defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, said: “KKR are going to have a lot of problems this season. Forget about their batting, bowling and all of that. The way they played this game and the last game, I think that they don’t have one bowler who they can bank on for four overs.
“Many times you have one or two weak links whom you look to support, but you don’t have even one bowler who can guarantee you four overs.”
Knights have looked weaker with ace spinner Varun Chakravarthy out of rhythm. “When I look at him (Varun), I feel his confidence is very low. If you are under so much pressure, there are methods to improve your practice...
“He has to increase his hand speed and try all these in the nets. You cannot just go to the nets and do spot bowling on your own. This stage comes to everyone... The game is pushing you to find a method and move forward. He will have to find answers,” Ashwin observed.
Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to Star Sports, said the Knights should play a specialist batter if all-rounder Cameron Green isn’t bowling.
“KKR will need to think about their combination,” he said.