In a massive setback for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of their match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that the Purple Army will be without their two primary spin pillars Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy.
The news comes as a shock to fans, especially given KKR’s desperate need for a win to climb out of the bottom two of the IPL 2026 points table.
But why are Chakaravarthy and Narine not playing KKR vs PBKS?
According to Rahane, both omissions were out of the team’s control.
Varun Chakaravarthy: The “Mystery Spinner” is out due to an injury sustained while taking a catch in the previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Sunil Narine: The veteran all-rounder has been sidelined due to illness.
“Two changes, forced,” Rahane said at the toss. “Varun Chakaravarthy got injured taking the catch in the last game and Narine is sick. Powell and Saini are in.”
Who is playing instead?
With the spin twins out, KKR has opted for a significant tactical shift:
Navdeep Saini enters the XI to provide raw domestic pace, likely partnering with Blessing Muzarabani.
Rovman Powell makes his way into the side, adding much-needed muscle to the middle order as KKR opts to bat first on what Rahane describes as a “drier wicket.”
Why this could hurt KKR tonight
Losing Narine and Chakaravarthy at Eden Gardens is a nightmare scenario for Rahane. Between them, the duo has historically controlled the middle-overs squeeze that KKR relies on. Without Narine’s economical spells and Varun’s wicket-taking ability, the pressure now shifts entirely to the pace unit to contain a high-flying Punjab Kings batting lineup led by Shreyas Iyer.
Having said that, Varun is in the middle of a low period, having conceded 300 runs in his last 24 overs in T20s.
KKR vs PBKS Playing XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Cooper Connolly, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal