IPL | KKR coach Nayar bets on Varun bouncing back

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Abhishek Nayar on Wednesday expressed confidence that spinner Varun Chakaravarthy would bounce back in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Varun conceded a lot of runs in the T20 World Cup and in KKR’s IPL opener against Mumbai Indians (0/48 in four overs) at the Wankhede Stadium the other night.

However, Nayar solidly backed the spinner. “He has gone through a lot more than this. He has accomplished a lot over the past year, which has increased expectations…Statistically, he’s pretty much bowled the similar speeds that he always has.

“Hawkeye suggests he has bowled the same lengths, but sometimes players play you better,” Nayar said on the eve of KKR’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“It (Wankhede) was a pitch that challenged all spinners…and Varun bowls (in) those phases where he’s always going to be challenged. As a franchise, as support staff, we back him. Teams are playing him well. Doesn’t mean he can’t come back. It just means that it’s another challenge in his life.

Kolkata Knight Riders’s Varun Chakaravarthy bowls during a practice session on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 cricket match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Kolkata, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK

“At times you want to protect a bowler and bring him at a time where you feel he can be more effective. But the nature of the game is (such) that sometimes you want to put your best players in a position to perform. If he picks up wickets there, he’s a different bowler.”

Nayar said the support staff, including mentor D.J. Bravo and bowling coach Tim Southee, had been working with the less experienced bowlers in the side to bring out the best in them.