Narine Returns, Varun Doubtful: KKR’s Injury Woes Ahead of LSG Clash
Narine Returns, Varun Doubtful: KKR’s Injury Woes Ahead of LSG Clash
Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bowling attack will get a shot in the arm against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Thursday as Sunil Narine, their highest wicket-taker in the IPL, has recovered from the illness that forced him to miss the washed-out game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday.
Varun Chakravarthy, though, remains a doubt for Thursday due to the injury on the left hand because of which he also missed the fixture against PBKS. Varun had injured the little finger on his left hand while fielding against Sunrisers Hyderabad but he bowled his full set at training on Wednesday*, a KKR release said. Varun was seen in the dugout during the PBKS game with a taping across his left hand and he arrived at Eden Gardens on Wednesday the same way for training. There is no timeline yet on Varun’s return.
Narine’s Return a Boost to KKR
According to the KKR management, Narine was suffering from an abdominal issue before the PBKS game. Monday was the first time since IPL 2019 that KKR played without both spinners in their XI.
Narine had resumed practice on Tuesday and he batted and bowled on the two days before the next clash. His return will come as a boost to an inexperienced bowling line-up that has been plagued with injuries and player unavailability. Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy was the lone spinner in KKR’s XI against PBKS.
Cameron Green’s Bowling Services Likely
Apart from Narine’s return, ESPNcricinfo has learnt KKR are also likely to have Cameron Green’s bowling services Thursday onwards for the rest of IPL 2026.
Although Green has been bowling in the KKR training sessions, he has not bowled so far in the tournament, with the franchise co-ordinating the allrounder’s workload management in consultation with Cricket Australia.
KKR have just one point after three games, having started the season with successive defeats before the washout that got them one point.
*1500GMT, April 8: The story was updated after a statement from KKR
