Varun Chakaravarthy admitted that Kolkata Knight Riders’ first win of IPL 2026 came with a wave of emotion, revealing there were “a lot of tears in the dressing room which we didn’t see in the year that we won the IPL in 2024.”
Chakravarthy described Sunday’s four-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals as a “very very significant win”, marking a turning point in what has been a difficult campaign for KKR. After a string of losses, the result finally brought some relief to a side that had struggled to find rhythm.
Chakaravarthy also shared that he has been dealing with multiple injury setbacks this season, having fractured two fingers on his non-bowling hand. “Unfortunately, before the first match itself, I fractured one of my fingers and in another match, I fractured another finger,” he said. “Yeah, left hand, two fractures. So, I couldn’t use my left hand itself. So, fielding, it was totally out of the question. I am trying to manage but it is still a little painful.”
Despite the challenges, he delivered a match-winning spell of 3 for 14, stepping up on a surface that offered assistance to spinners. Speaking about the pitch, he said, “Generally, it starts getting a bit slower. I am not saying it slows down so much but today, I felt it was a 180-190 wicket. Both the teams struggled with batting.”
Chakaravarthy, however, was quick to downplay his performance and cautioned against reading too much into one outing. “Look, just because I have taken three wickets today, I don’t want to make a sweeping statement and all,” he said. “That’s the nature of the game. Next match, if the wicket has nothing in it, that’s going to happen to every spinner.”
He explained that his approach hasn’t changed drastically, apart from tweaking his lines. “I didn’t change my length or my speed. I am just changing the line of attack a little. So, more cramping lines… I am working on all the lines right now, I am not just sticking to stumps.”
At the same time, he stressed the importance of sticking to strengths when conditions allow. “Once there is something in the pitch, I go back to my strength. My strength is to keep attacking the stumps,” he said. “But if there is nothing on the pitch, that’s when the bowlers start searching… which happens to everyone.”
Reflecting on the team’s slow start, Chakaravarthy pointed to injuries and external criticism as key challenges. “We have not been winning and there is a lot of outside noise which comes and which affects the players. But finally, we turned out on the better side today. We won the match,” he said.
He also credited the team management for navigating a tough phase. “Because we started this tournament with many injuries and it actually crippled us before even the tournament started,” he added. “So, I would like to give credit to the coaches… Abhishek Nayar. If you’re taking up a team in such a condition, you have a lot of work to do.”
KKR now hope this result can spark a turnaround. “It’s going to take some time for build up. And I think slowly, slowly, step by step, baby step, one win here, one win there, we will be back on track.”
Following Sunday’s victory, the three-time IPL champions will return to action after a week’s break. Sitting at the penultimate spot in the 10-team table, KKR will next face Lucknow Super Giants on April 26.