Watson lauds injured Varun's 'desperation to play for KKR'

Angkrish Raghuvanshi "ended up having some neck pain, a bit of dizziness and a headache" after his collision with Varun Chakravarthy, Shane Watson says

Varun Chakravarthy is "playing through a bit of pain," Shane Watson revealed after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) at Eden Gardens on Wednesday night to keep their slim hopes of making the IPL 2026 playoffs alive. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, meanwhile, felt "dizziness" after his collision with Varun during the match, which prevented him from batting.

As has been reported in sections of the media, Varun, part of KKR's high-performing spin twosome with Sunil Narine, has a hairline fracture in his left foot, but has been playing despite it with KKR in must-win zone for the best part of the season. Against MI, he didn't get a wicket, but kept things in check with returns of none for 28 from his four overs.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure of 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 be able to contribute for KKR, and he's still bowling beautifully," Watson, KKR's assistant coach, said in the press conference after the game, which spilled over into Thursday after rain forced delays.Related'A form team is always dangerous' - KKR rise from the ashes

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"It's been brilliant to be able to see [Varun's] turnaround from the first few games of the season [he had none for 105 after the first three games before getting on a roll], to then the impact he's been able to consistently have every single game. And we are so lucky to be able to have someone of Varun's skill and also his desperation to be able to be here, and to play for KKR, because with the pain that he's managing, he could have easily just said, 'look, 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."

Varun's injury, and the fact that he has continued to play despite it, has been noticed by the BCCI, but the board has so far left KKR to do the right thing.

"So far as IPL is concerned, franchises take care of the injuries and fitness of the players. Of course physios from CoE [BCCI's Centre of Excellence] are also monitoring them, workload as well as plan on how to keep them fit," Devajit Saikia, the BCCI secretary, told PTI on Tuesday. "The monitoring is there but when IPL is going on, we cannot interfere too much. Had it been the Indian team situation, our control would have been more."1:41Mukund: KKR have got their tactics right

Along the way, there was also Varun's collision in the field with Raghuvanshi, the wicketkeeper. It was the 11th over of the MI innings, and Tilak Varma swung hard at a Varun delivery, top-edged it, sending it towards Varun. Raghuvanshi, however, made a dash to take the catch, and collided with Varun, who had completed the catch but spilled it upon impact.

Varun ended the game without a wicket, and Raghuvanshi walked off in the 14th over, not to come out to bat later.

"Angkrish, unfortunately... he ran a long way to be able to try and get that catch. And unfortunately the collision that he had with Varun Chakravarthy meant that he ended up having some neck pain, a bit of dizziness and a headache within a couple overs of that as well," Watson said. "So, yeah, unfortunately, he wasn't able to finish off the game and I know how desperate he was as well. He's someone who, he's as tough as a competitor as I've ever met. So, we certainly missed him from a batting perspective."

Varun's rehab will continue as KKR prepare to play their last league-stage game of the season, on Sunday against Delhi Capitals (DC), by which time the team would hope Raghuvanshi, their highest run-getter this season, has recovered sufficiently.