Varun Chakravarthy’s inconsistent IPL 2026 season could be linked to a mental and physical toll on India’s hectic campaign to win the T20 World Cup earlier this year. According to Dwayne Bravo, the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner probably needed a good break after the World Cup before jumping straight back into another tough tournament.
This IPL season has seen several members The T20 World Cup-winning Indian team is struggling for rhythm, including Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Speaking ahead of KKR’s match against Delhi Capitals on May 8, Bravo backed Varun and insisted that the spinner’s quality was never in doubt despite his patchy returns this season.
“Yes, I think in sports, especially when you play at this level, everything is very result-oriented and sometimes people get very emotional,” Bravo said.
“A player like Varun, who is a top-class spinner, has just come out of the World Cup, which was also a very hectic tournament.
“So a break at the right time is always important but nobody ever questioned his ability because when you’re that good it’s only a matter of time before you get back into form.
Bravo also highlighted how mentally draining a tournament like the IPL can be, especially immediately after international duty.
“The group is very supportive of him and a mental break is also very important, especially in a tournament like the IPL where there are so many games, high pressure and the best players competing against each other.”
“No matter who you are as a player, you’re going to have those moments. There’s a lot of other quality players struggling this season as well.”
Talk about fatigue has quietly become one of the bigger themes of IPL 2026, especially around the players who were central to India’s T20 World Cup triumph.
HOW DID VARUN CHAKRAVARTHY FAR IN IPL 2026?
Varun’s IPL 2026 season looked like two completely different campaigns rolled together.
The KKR spinner has endured a torrid start to the season, going wicketless in his first three matches against Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, including expensive figures of 0/48.
At one stage, questions began to arise as to whether the batters had finally figured him out.
But just as criticism began to mount, Varun bounced back hard.
He picked up 10 wickets in the next four matches and played a major role in reviving KKR’s campaign, including a crucial three-wicket spell against SRH.
This inconsistency largely mirrored his World T20 journey.
Varun finished the tournament as the joint-highest wicket-taker alongside Bumrah with 14 wickets, but after dominating the group stage, his impact during the Super 8s and knockout stages diminished significantly.
ARE INDIA’S WORLD CUP STARS EMPTY?
Varun is not the only Indian star who is battling a tough IPL season after the T20 World Cup.
Bumrah managed just three wickets in 10 matches for Mumbai Indians at an average of 109.67, while Arshdeep had an unusually mixed season for Punjab Kings despite taking 12 wickets in 11 matches.
Concerns about burnout have already been raised by several former cricketers this season.
While some coaches have played down the issue publicly, experts like Ravi Shastri have pointed to the sheer workload and lack of time to recover from India’s title-winning World Cup campaign.
The schedule barely gave the players time to mentally reset before returning to another demanding tournament full of constant travel, watching and anticipation.
And for the players who guided India to victory in the World Cup a few months back, the exhaustion now seems to be manifesting itself in different ways in the context of IPL 2026.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
08 May 2026 03:00 IST
