Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings turned into a notable talking point even before the first ball, with two of KKR’s key spin options missing from the playing XI. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, who had featured in every KKR game so far this season, were both ruled out for health-related reasons. At the toss, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that the changes were forced: “Two changes, forced changes. Varun Chakravarthy unfortunately got injured while taking a catch in the last game, and Sunil Narine is sick. (Rovman) Powell and (Navdeep) Saini are in.”
Rahane then opted to bat first after winning the toss, adding his assessment of the surface. “We are going to bat first. It looks like a good wicket, a little bit on the drier side, but it’s a very good wicket with slightly less grass covering as well. That’s the reason to put runs on the board first. (What needs to be done to turn the tide in their favour?) It’s all about having that belief and confidence. Preparation-wise, we’ve been fantastic—each and every player. It’s about winning the small moments in the T20 format and giving your best. And if you find the right moment, just give your best. So, as I said, we are confident as a unit and have that belief,” Rahane said.
KKR, who had lost their first two opening matches of the season, made the pair of alterations by bringing Rovman Powell and Navdeep Saini into the XI. They replaced Sunil Narine, who was unwell, and Varun Chakravarthy, who was sidelined with an injury.
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, entered the contest on the back of two wins and kept faith with the same squad that appeared in their previous match.
Playing XIs
- Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
- Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi.
