IPL 2026, RCB vs KKR Today Match: Kolkata Knight Riders are without their mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy for Match 57 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Tuesday, May 13, 2026. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed at the toss that Chakravarthy missed the game because of a niggle injury. Saurabh Dubey replaced him in the playing XI.
“I thought we've been bowling really well as a bowling unit. But winning those small moments in this format is really important. Every single game is really important. Varun Chakaravarthy misses out, unfortunately, with a niggle injury. Saurabh Dubey comes in place of him,” Rahane said at the toss.
Varun appeared to be struggling physically during KKR’s previous match against Delhi Capitals on May 8. The mystery spinner was seen limping badly during his fourth over but still completed his full quota despite being in visible discomfort.
Chakravarthy had also missed a few matches earlier in the season due to a hand injury before returning to action.
The absence of Chakravarthy is a significant setback for KKR, who are in a must-win situation to keep their IPL 2026 playoff hopes alive. The 34-year-old spinner has taken 10 wickets in eight matches this season at an economy rate of 8.62 and has been one of KKR’s key performers during their recent winning run.
Toss Result
RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to bowl first against KKR.
Playing XI:
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood
Impact Substitutes:
KKR: Saurabh Dubey, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert
RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh