Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Shane Watson made a huge revelation after his side’s win against Mumbai Indians. The former cricketer praised mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, pointing out that he has been playing through ‘pain’ due to a hairline fracture in his left foot.
Chakaravarthy suffered the injury while fielding during KKR’s away game against Delhi Capitals on May 8. He missed their next game vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 13. But after their defeat to RCB, Chakaravarthy returned for the successive matches against Gujarat Titans and MI, not fully fit.
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‘Playing through a bit of pain’
After the win against MI, Watson said, “Well, I’m not exactly sure where he is on his rehab journey at the moment. All I do know is he’s obviously playing through a bit of pain at the moment, which just shows how brave he is, how much he wants to be here to contribute for KKR, and he’s still bowling beautifully.”
Since the T20 World Cup, he has been in poor form. In his first three IPL games this year, he went wicketless and leaked 105 runs. But in the final phase, he has played a key role in KKR’s late resurgence, taking 10 wickets in four matches.
“It’s been brilliant to see the turnaround from the first few games of the season to the impact he’s been able to consistently have every single game,” he said.
“We are so lucky to have someone with Varun’s skill and also his desperation to be here and want to play for KKR.”
Hailing his commitment, he added, “Because with the pain that he’s managing, he could have easily just said, ‘I don’t want to be a part of this, I’m just going to go and rest it.'”
“So we’re very fortunate that he’s all in and he’s done a brilliant job again tonight. Obviously an unfortunate collision with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, but he did a brilliant job again tonight. So we’re very grateful for everything that he continues to do for KKR,” he added.
He struggled with rhythm in the earlier games and looked far less threatening than usual. Batters looked more prepared for his variations, and his economy rate climbed sharply. Eventually, the turnaround finally arrived, and he bounced back strongly, rediscovering his control and wicket-taking threat.
Even now his numbers do not fully match his dominant form, but he is still central to KKR’s bowling plans. His ability to break partnerships and put pressure on alongside Sunil Narine is part of KKR’s bowling identity.
