Why Is Varun Chakravarthy Not in KKR Playing XI Tonight for RCB vs KKR IPL 2026? It is a question that will be on the minds of many fans, especially since the star Kolkata Knight Riders spinner was absent from the lineup.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns tonight (May 13) in a high-octane clash, being played at Raipur.
The question ‘Why Is Varun Chakravarthy Not in KKR Playing XI Tonight for RCB vs KKR IPL 2026?’ has been trending since the toss. The answer is simple: Varun Chakravarthy won’t be available for the contest since he is suffering from a niggle injury. Notably, Varun had hurt his left leg during the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad and although he played in the previous game against Delhi Capitals (DC), it now seems that the injury has been aggravated.
Furthermore, Varun Charavarthy was seen wearing braces and walking with a stick in the hotel ahead of the RCB vs KKR game.
The news of the same was confirmed by KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane at the toss. As a replacement, Viadrbha pacer Saurabh Dubey has been handed his debut and will feature in the KKR Playing XI. He is however slotted as an Impact Player and will come on when KKR bowl in the second innings.
Rahane said, “Varun Chakravarthy misses out, unfortunately, with a niggle injury. Saurabh Dubey comes in in place of him.”
The mystery spinner’s absence will be a big blow to the three-time champions who do not have any margin of error if they have to secure an IPL 2026 playoffs spot. Varun, so far this season, has taken 10 wickets in eight games with some crucial match-winning performances to revive KKR’s hopes after they started IPL 2026 with five straight losses.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood
RCB Impact Subs: Saurabh Dubey, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
KKR Impact Subs: Saurabh Dubey, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert
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