Why is Varun Chakaravarthy not playing today’s RCB vs KKR IPL 2026 match?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are without their mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy for the must-win IPL 2026 clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Wednesday, May 13. The match is being played at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.

There was some uncertainty about Chakaravarthy’s availability for the game after he sustained a leg injury during KKR’s previous encounter against Delhi Capitals (DC). A video circulated on social media in which the 34-year-old was seen walking with crutches.

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that Chakaravarthy missed out due to an injury. He said at the toss after KKR were put to bat first (via Cricbuzz):

“I thought we’ve been bowling really well as a bowling unit. But, you know, winning those small moments in this format is really important. Every single game is really important. Varun Chakaravarthy misses out, unfortunately, with a niggle injury. Saurabh Dubey comes in in place of him.”

Chakaravarthy has picked up 10 wickets across eight outings at an economy rate of 8.62 in IPL 2026. Notably, he previously missed a couple of games due to a hand injury.

“It is a big plus for RCB” – Mohammad Kaif on Varun Chakaravarthy’s absence

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif feels Varun Chakaravarthy’s absence will be a big advantage for RCB. He noted that the crafty spinner looked in good rhythm in the last few games.

The cricketer-turned-commentator said on JioStar (via ANI):

“If Varun Chakaravarthy is not available, then it is a big plus for RCB. He has come back into form recently. He was doing well and hitting the right areas.”

Here are the playing XIs for the RCB vs KKR match:

KKR: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Impact subs: Saurabh Dubey, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert

RCB: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood

Impact subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh