Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been dealt a major setback, with both their frontline spinners, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, missing their IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens on Monday, April 6.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed at the toss that the changes were forced. Chakravarthy sustained an injury while taking a catch in the previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Narine was unavailable due to illness.
KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2026: Live Updates | Scorecard
With both spinners out, KKR have been left with just one specialist slow bowler in Anukul Roy. To compensate, the team has brought in West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell and Indian pacer Navdeep Saini, who is set to make his debut for the franchise.
Saini arrives in strong form in white-ball cricket. He was a key contributor in Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, claiming 12 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of under six. He also finished as Delhi’s second-highest wicket-taker in last season’s 50-over competition.
This marks the first time since April 2019 that both Chakravarthy and Narine have missed a game for KKR. On that occasion, the team suffered a seven-wicket defeat to the Delhi Capitals.
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KKR have endured a difficult start to the season, losing to the Mumbai Indians away and the Sunrisers Hyderabad at home. They will be eager to turn things around despite the absence of their trusted spin duo.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings, led by Shreyas Iyer, come into the contest in strong form, having won both their matches so far. After finishing as runners-up last season, they will be keen to maintain their momentum and continue their impressive run.
KKR vs PBKS, Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane(C), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(WK), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
KKR Impact Subs: Blessing Muzarabani, Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Dubey
Punjab Kings XI: Prabhsimran Singh(WK), Shreyas Iyer(C), Cooper Connolly, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
PBKS Impact Subs: Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Pravin Dubey, Harpreet Brar
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