India, May 4 -- Ajinkya Rahane hailed Varun Chakaravarthy after the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner's match-winning spell against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 fixture on Sunday. Varun was in poor form before the season even began, and it was reflected in his 2026 T20 World Cup campaign. Although India successfully defended its title, Varun's form was in stark contrast to that. He has also been battling injuries and playing through them.

Varun took a three-wicket haul against SRH as KKR bowled them out for 165 runs in 19 overs. The India spinner dismissed Travis Head (61), Smaran Ravichandran (4) and Aniket Verma (6).

Speaking after the match, Rahane said, "Really happy for him."

"He was struggling before the tournament and even ...