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Kolkata Knight Riders desperately need a win against Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday and ahead of the fixture there is some genuinely encouraging news coming out of the Eden Gardens camp, but also one lingering question that has not been fully answered yet.
The fitness situations around Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, both of whom missed the washed-out Punjab Kings game on Monday, are moving in different directions and the update on each of them tells a very different story heading into today's crucial fixture.
Sunil Narine is back and that is huge for KKR
As per ESPncricinfo, The better of the two pieces of news is that Sunil Narine has recovered from the abdominal issue that ruled him out against PBKS and is available for selection today.
Narine resumed practice on Tuesday and crucially batted and bowled across the two training days before the LSG fixture, which is exactly the kind of preparation a spinner needs to find his rhythm before a match.
Monday against Punjab Kings was the first time since IPL 2019 that KKR had played without both their specialist spinners in the XI, a remarkable stat that tells you how central Narine and Varun are to everything this team does.
His return alone transforms KKR's bowling options and gives Ajinkya Rahane a match-winner with the ball that he has been sorely missing in the early stages of the tournament.
Varun Chakravarthy remains a doubt for KKR vs LSG
Varun Chakravarthy's situation is less straightforward. He injured the little finger on his left hand while fielding against Sunrisers Hyderabad and has been carrying that issue since. He was seen in the dugout during the PBKS game with taping across his left hand and arrived at Eden Gardens on Wednesday for training in the same condition.
The positive news is that he did bowl his full set at training according to a KKR release, which suggests the injury is not preventing him from bowling entirely. However there is no timeline yet on his return and the KKR management have not confirmed him available for today's game. He remains a doubt.
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The Cameron Green bombshell ahead of KKR vs LSG
Beyond the spinner fitness updates, ESPNcricinfo has further reported something that KKR fans have been waiting weeks to hear, Cameron Green's bowling services are likely to be available from Thursday onwards for the rest of IPL 2026.
Green has been bowling in KKR training sessions and the franchise has been coordinating his workload management in consultation with Cricket Australia, but he has not bowled in a match yet this season.
If he is cleared to bowl today against LSG it would be a genuinely significant moment for a KKR bowling attack that has been badly stretched by injuries and unavailability.
KKR currently sit on just one point from three games after two defeats and a washout, and with Narine potentially back, Green potentially bowling and Varun in contention, the bowling resources available to Rahane today could look very different to anything we have seen from them so far this season.
