Kolkata Knight Riders are taking on the Lucknow Super Giants in an important game of the IPL 2026 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This will be an important match for the Knights as they aim to register their first win of the tournament, after securing a point due to a rain-disrupted game against Punjab Kings (PBKS). KKR have gone into game with a strong playing XI. However, the one big name that is missing from the lineup fror a second game in a row is star India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy.
Why Varun Chakaravarthy Is Not Playing
Varun Chakaravarthy is not playing because, according to the captain Ajinkya Rahane at the toss, he has still not recovered from his hand injury that he suffered while taking Abhishek Sharma’s catch in the match against SRH. He missed the match against PBKS as well.
“Varun had injured the little finger on his left hand while taking Abhishek’s catch in the match vs SRH. The medical team has been working closely with him. He bowled his full set at training today,” Rahane had said in the pre-match press conference on April 8 (Wednesday).
FOLLOW: KKR Vs LSG Live Score
Sunil Narine Returns, Cameron Green To Bowl
Sunil Narine also missed the game against PBKS owing to illness. However, he has recovered from it and has returned to the playing XI vs LSG. He has replaced Blessing Muzarabani. Rahane also confirmed that Cameron Green will be bowling for the first time in IPL 2026 in this game.
“Just one change – Sunil comes in place of Blessing, Varun is still recovering from his hand injury. When he (Green) is allowed to bowl, we will probably see him, the combination gets better, so Rovman Powell plays, when Cam Green bowls then we have that extra bowler with us,” Rahane said at the toss.
KKR Playing XI vs LSG
Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi.
Impact Subs:
Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert
