According to the latest reports, the Kolkata Knight Riders are expected to be without the services of both Varun Chakravarthy and Matheesha Pathirana for their IPL 2026 match against the Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Chakravarthy has reportedly been carrying a hairline fracture in his toe for almost two weeks now, while Pathirana is suspected to have developed a new hamstring injury during KKR's last game.
Varun Chakravarthy keeps training sessions short
As reported by Cricbuzz, Varun Chakravarthy trained with the KKR team on the eve of the match, but the session was extremely short and kept away from media eyes. It was also reported that he was limping to and from the ground.
Pathirana, on the other hand, is reported to have not trained with the team at all in any of their practice sessions. During KKR's win over the Gujarat Titans on May 16, he left the field after bowling just 8 balls despite it being his first match of the season.
Varun Chakravarthy and Matheesha Pathirana's injury history
As confirmed by KKR Head Coach Abhishek Nayar, Chakravarthy fractured his toe during the team's fixture against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 4.
In that game, Varun Chakravarthy was the Player of the Match for his 3/36 from four overs as KKR comfortably chased down the 169 set by SRH.
Nayar also confirmed that Varun had played the May 8 fixture against the Delhi Capitals while carrying the injury. In that match, he didn't take any wickets, but gave away only 28 runs in his 4 overs.
The injury ultimately aggravated to the point where he had to miss the game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 13, but returned for the match against GT. Against GT, his four overs were taken apart for 47 wicketless runs. It was suggested that he hadn't fully recovered from his injury, as visuals of him limping had surfaced.
Pathirana has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but the latest came in the home T20 World Cup in February. During Sri Lanka's group stage match against Australia, Pathirana left the field after bowling just four balls and was ultimately ruled out of the tournament due to a muscle strain in his left leg.
His recuperation from that injury took a long time, and he wasn't fit to play until KKR's 12th match of IPL 2026. If he is ruled out of the season, KKR will not be allowed to sign a replacement this late into the tournament.
Now, the reports have said that Pathirana might have developed another hamstring injury.
Varun Chakravarthy and Matheesha Pathirana's form in IPL 2026
Pathirana didn't take any wickets in the 8 balls he bowled against GT, but conceded just 9 runs at an economy of 6.75.
Varun Chakravarthy, though, is currently KKR's fourth-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2026. His current toe fracture is not his first injury of IPL 2026. Very early in the season, he had injured his hand trying to take a catch and had to miss two games because of it.
Overall, Varun Chakravarthy has played only 9 out of KKR's 12 matches in the tournament. He has taken 10 wickets at an average of 29.70 and an economy rate of 9 runs per over.
