Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane addressed allegations that the franchise was forcing spinner Varun Chakravarthy to play despite injury.
Rahane talked about Chakraborty’s injury concerns and the conversation that led to his recovery. Rahane was speaking to broadcasters after KKR’s loss to Delhi Capitals in the last league stage match of IPL 2026 on Sunday.
The defeat means KKR’s final position on the points table is 7th, a slight improvement from last year’s eighth position.
Varun Chakraborty’s injury controversy
Varun Chakraborty’s hand was injured while taking a catch against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2. That injury resulted in fractures to his fingers and ultimately left him unable to play the two matches in between.
The second injury occurred during the return match against SRH on 3 May. The ball hit the toe of Varun’s left foot and there was a hairline fracture. He played most of the remaining matches with this injury and missed only one match in the second half of the tournament, against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 13 May.
In the last few matches, Varun was seen limping on the cricket field and even during the matches. Head coach Abhishek Nair confirmed that Chakraborty has suffered a fracture. This led to speculation that KKR might have forced the spinner to play through injury while their season was still alive.
“I am not involved in that decision” – Ajinkya Rahane
After the match, Rahane said that it was not his decision to let Varun Chakraborty play but the physio’s decision.
Rahane said that the physiotherapist advised him that Varun Chakraborty’s injuries would not be too serious if he came on the field. Apart from this medical assurance, Rahane also said that Chakraborty’s desire to play was another factor in his inclusion.
“Look, there was a discussion between our team physio and BCCI, NCA and the Indian team physio. I don’t get involved in that at all. This is their department. My department is to know what is the mentality of the player, whether the player wants to play or not, how big is the risk?” Rahane said.
“Yes, it is important to consider the health factor to stay fit. Your injuries should not aggravate. Yes, we think about it. But the physio felt that his injuries should not aggravate.”
Rahane said, “Varun Chakraborty was eager to play and full credit goes to him for that.” “Because in that injury, you show how important the team is to you. Varun was completely prepared. Yes, there was one match (against RCB) where we had to give him a break because he was in a lot of pain. But he thought he could play. That communication came from him.”
“When the player says he can play, it is a positive message to the physio and the team that he wants to play. I want to give full credit to Varun. He showed eagerness to play. And the injury risk management team, the physio felt his injuries would not aggravate,” Rahane concluded.
Varun Chakraborty in IPL 2026
Against DC on Sunday, Varun Chakravarthy finished with figures of 1/35 from his four overs.
After missing a total of three matches due to injuries, Varun finished IPL 2026 with 11 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 32.72 and an economy rate of 8.78.
Since joining KKR in 2020, this is his second-fewest wickets in an IPL season. The lowest was in 2022 when he took just 6 wickets in 11 matches. In his very first IPL season in 2019, he took 1 wicket in 1 match before being ruled out due to injury.
He played for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) that year.
Also read: Ajinkya Rahane sacked after IPL 2026 disaster, Abhishek Nair under scanner: Report
