After beginning their IPL 2026 journey with no wins in their opening six matches, Kolkata Knight Riders have found their footing again, stringing together three straight victories. A major reason for the turnaround has been the impact of their left-arm and wrist-spin combination, with Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy operating as a genuine threat whenever the ball is in their hands. In their most recent three outings, the pair produced 13 wickets at a strike-rate of 11.07 while keeping the run flow down with an economy of 6.8, underlining why KKR’s results have lately swung in their favour whenever spin takes centre stage.
The clearest example came on Sunday, when KKR delivered a composed, clinical performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chasing a target they effectively controlled, the hosts were unable to build momentum and were dismissed for 165. Earlier, SRH had looked fairly set at 105 for 1 in the ninth over, but the match shifted as KKR’s spinners tightened the screws and removed key batters at crucial moments. Varun and Narine’s collective influence has become even more apparent when viewed across a wider timeline: in the IPL since 2023, their combined returns for KKR have been substantial, and the latest stretch shows why teams continue to fear what that duo can do when they’re on song.
Varun’s return to form has given KKR an extra layer of confidence. The spinner’s campaign had started slowly, and his early impact in the season had left room for improvement, but the recent performances have erased those concerns. For India earlier in the year, he had an underwhelming spell as well, yet his international workload since January has been productive. Excluding matches against Associate nations during the T20 World Cup, Varun picked up 11 wickets in nine T20 Internationals at an economy rate of 10.29. Even so, his IPL 2026 start wasn’t where KKR would have wanted it: across his first three appearances in the league, he finished with 0 for 105 in nine overs and also missed two matches due to a wrist problem.
Since getting back into rhythm, though, Varun’s numbers have improved markedly. He has taken 10 wickets at an economy of 7.31, with eight of those dismissals coming during the three wins. He also earned the Player of the Match award twice in that run, a sign that his contributions weren’t just statistical—they were often decisive. One factor that stands out is the way his spells have been timed and structured. In India’s T20Is, his powerplay work during 2024 and 2025 featured eight wickets at 16.25, which came with an economy rate of 6.84. That pattern changed in 2026, where he managed three wickets at 22.33, raising his economy to 9.57 overall in that period, and to 10.66 specifically against full-member teams.
In the opening phase of IPL 2026, his first two matches followed a similar script: he returned 0 for 40 in two overs with the new ball, with batters taking advantage—Rohit Sharma at Wankhede and Abhishek Sharma at home made sure the early overs didn’t belong to him. However, once he returned to the playing XI, KKR have introduced him later than before. The earliest he has been brought on since his comeback is the eighth over, with 15 of the 16 overs he has bowled coming during the middle stage of an innings. There was even a memorable example in the tight finish against Lucknow Super Giants, where he bowled the 18th over in a game that ended level and then grabbed the crucial wicket of Ayush Badoni.
Against Rajasthan Royals, Varun’s control was especially noticeable, as he produced figures of 3 for 14 in four overs. During that spell, he struck with 2 for 7 off the 14 deliveries he bowled at a good length, and he ensured the ball stayed in the right channel. All three of his wicket-taking deliveries arrived in the 96–99 kmph range, showing how he used pace subtly rather than simply relying on speed. The theme continued against Lucknow Super Giants, though the manner of the bowling there was more reactive. After allowing Nicholas Pooran to hit a six over wide long-off, Varun shifted his length and pushed the ball further away, forcing Pooran into a catchable position at short third-man. That dismissal setup was backed by fielders placed in the ring specifically for that kind of outcome, with three players stationed behind point for the exact mode of getting the batter out.
Badoni’s batting plan against spin typically involves a lofted drive over extra cover, but Varun cramped him from the round-the-wicket angle and removed the space needed for that preferred shot. His first two overs versus SRH had cost him 29 runs, yet they also contained a key breakthrough—he dismissed Travis Head, who made 61 off 28 balls. After Head struck the previous delivery for a six over long-off, Varun responded by changing the tempo and speed of his bowling by 10.6 kmph, reaching 104.8, and then forced a different kind of mistake. Head was caught at deep mid-wicket as the wrist-spinner tightened the margin.
In those opening overs, the 10 googlies he bowled cost 24 runs, but the later phase showed improved efficiency. Off the nine deliveries he bowled in the latter part of his spell, only two runs came, including the wicket of Smaran Ravichandran. That batter was beaten by a combination of length and elevation, with the ball at around 92.7 kmph landing in the right area to deny him clean contact in the air. Overall, it has been that ability to adapt—whether by length adjustments, pace changes, or later introductions into the innings—that has helped Varun’s wicket-taking returns become so impactful for KKR.
While KKR’s batting issues have been visible throughout the season, their reliance on spin has kept them from slipping completely into the background. The tournament has increasingly rewarded top-order performances, and KKR have struggled to consistently get those early contributions. Their top-order combined average of 21.65 is the lowest among the 10 teams. Their strike-rate of 141.45 is only better than Lucknow Super Giants’ 134.63, and both marks sit well below the tournament-wide aggregates of 34.36 and 166.62, respectively. Still, in the closing stages as the competition moves towards its business end, the spinners—Narine and Varun in particular—remain KKR’s clearest source of hope, giving them a way to swing matches even when the bat hasn’t always done the job.
