'We are not worried' - Varun Chakravarthy gets vote of trust from skipper Ajinkya Rahane ahead of IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane is not worried about Varun Chakravarthy’s recent run of poor form ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Chakravarthy’s poor end to India’s title-winning T20 World Cup campaign caught a lot of attention. Despite being the tournament’s joint-highest wicket-taker along with Jasprit Bumrah with 14 scalps, the spinner had an economy rate of 9.25.

Despite his expensive bowling spells at the T20 World Cup, Rahane stated that this is just a lean patch for Chakravarthy, something that should not warrant much attention as it is just a part and parcel of game.

“When you have a long career in T20 cricket, firstly, you tend to have such things. It’s almost like a batter sometimes not getting runs. And that’s how cricket is. I think with Varun, that’s one of the things, he’s played so much T20 cricket over the past year... So, a lot of teams obviously will try things (against him). Sometimes the conditions are not conducive to their style of bowling. You also need to understand he’s always bowling the tough overs for the team. He’s bowling in the powerplay,” Rahane said during the team’s first news conference at Eden Gardens.

“He’s bowling in phases of the game where two batters are set. He’s coming in and trying to pick wickets. So, I wouldn’t say there’s anything necessarily wrong with him. He’s had a good 10-day break after the World Cup. I think that break is sometimes what a cricketer requires. And the beauty of team sport is that sometimes if Varun doesn’t turn up, someone else does,” he added. 

Rahane has insisted that instead of criticising Charkravarthy, the batters at the T20 World Cup deserve a lot of praise to play well against a quality bowler. 

"And we don’t want to put that sort of pressure on Varun. He’s been someone who’s delivered year after year. So, there’s nothing wrong. I thought in the World Cup, opposition batters played really well. Let’s give credit to them rather than talking about Varun. As a group, we are really confident about Varun... So, as a captain and also as a group, as a team, we are not really worried,” Rahane said.

Charkravarthy will remain one of KKR’s key bowlers in 2026 along with Sunil Narine. The 34-year-old has 99 wickets for the three-time champions ever since his debut for the franchise back in 2020.

Last season, the legbreak bowler took 17 wickets at an economy of 7.66 from 13 matches, ending as his team's joint-highest wicket-taker along with pace bowler Vaibhav Arora.