Not been able to do well for the team in the last 5 games

Former India bowler Mohit Sharma has highlighted Vaibhav Arora as the biggest concern for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as far as their bowling unit is concerned. The right-arm pacer was the most expensive bowler on show in the recent loss against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), ending with dismal figures of 0-48, in Raipur, on Wednesday, May 12.

Vaibhav Arora had the task of spearheading the bowling attack amid KKR’s injury crisis that affected the likes of Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, and Matheesha Pathirana. However, he has not stepped up to the plate, picking up 11 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 35.45 and an economy rate of 10.26.

During the loss against RCB, he undid the early momentum created by debutant Saurabh Dubey, who had conceded just one run off the first over. In the second over, Arora conceded four boundaries to hand RCB the burst they were looking for in the run chase.

Mohit Sharma stated that KKR sorely missed Varun Chakaravarthy’s services due to injury, and questioned Vaibhav Arora’s performance.

“Yes, there have been injury concerns, but the package you had made for the last four games was quite good. That unit looked great, but due to Varun not playing, their fourth and fifth bowlers got exposed. The concern here is Vaibhav Arora. He has not been able to do well for the team in the last five matches now, compared to earlier. He has not been able to swing the ball, but without that he is not able to do much. So, he has been a concern for the last five games. Varun’s absence was clearly visible,” Mohit Sharma said on Cricbuzz.

Unable to find any sort of swing or movement off the pitch, Vaibhav Arora was taken off the attack after his first over itself. He was brought back in the 13th over, where he conceded a boundary off the very first ball, and gave away 11 runs.

“Their bowling was also not that special” – Virender Sehwag slams KKR’s bowling display after loss to RCB in IPL 2026

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag noted that KKR’s first innings score was below par, and they did not have the bowling to defend the total, especially against someone like Virat Kohli.

The first match played at the venue in IPL 2026 had not yielded a high-scoring affair, but KKR and RCB had the luxury of a much better batting surface on offer.

“I don’t think it was KKR’s day because the batting was such that they could score over 200, so there was a mistake there. Their bowling was also not that special. After bowling the first over so well, the next over almost went for 20 runs. When there is a top class batter, your bowling will seem a bit weak. When you step out of the ground, you know whether you have played well or not, but KKR will be saying that we could have definitely played better with both bat and ball,” Virender Sehwag said.

KKR, with nine points after 11 matches, are on the brink of elimination from the playoffs race. The three-time winners need to win their remaining matches with a convincing margin, and hope that other results go in their favor. They will next face the high-flying Gujarat Titans (GT) at home, on Saturday, May 16.