Angkrish Raghuvanshi's absence during the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) run-chase against MI on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens was explained by assistant coach Shane Watson.  

KKR defeated MI by four wickets after chasing down a tricky 148-run target in 18.5 overs, although their season-highest run scorer, Raghuvanshi, was unable to bat because of neck problems.  

In the eleventh over of the first innings, Raghuvanshi and his teammate Varun Chakaravarthy clashed as the wicketkeeper rushed to Chakaravarthy in an attempt to complete a high catch of Tilak Varma.

Raghuvanshi called and claimed the catch even though it was the bowler's. The bowler dropped the catch because he was unable to reach for the ball in time, and his head struck Varun.

"Angkrish, unfortunately, ran a long way to be able to try and get that catch. And unfortunately, the collision that he had with Varun Chakravarthy meant that he ended up having some neck pain, a bit of dizziness and a bit of a headache within a couple of overs of that as well. So, unfortunately, he wasn't able to finish off the game. And I know how desperate he was as well. He's someone who is as tough a competitor as I've ever met. So, we certainly missed him from a batting perspective,” Watson revealed in the post-match press conference.

Due to Raghuvanshi's injury, KKR requested a concussion substitute, which caused some late-game drama. Although KKR had announced on social media that Ramandeep Singh would be the replacement, Tejasvi Singh Dahiya eventually took Raghuvanshi's place. Perhaps it was because the umpires did not consider Ramandeep to be a like-for-like substitute.

Reflecting on Varun Chakravarthy's rehab, Watson said, "I'm not exactly sure of where he is on his rehab journey at the moment. All I do know is he's obviously playing through a bit of pain at the moment, which just shows how brave he is, how much he wants to be here to be able to contribute to KKR. And he's still bowling beautifully. It's been brilliant to be able to see just like the turnaround from the first few games of the season to then the impact he's been able to consistently have every single game. And we are so lucky to be able to have some of Varun's skills."

KKR will face DC on May 24 in the final league stage game of IPL 2026.