KKR receive Matheesha Pathirana injury boost as pacer declared fit to play IPL 2026

KKR has received a timely boost ahead of the IPL 2026 season as Matheesha Pathirana has received clearance from the Sri Lankan cricket board to link up with the franchise. Pathirana suffered an injury during T20 World Cup 2026 and was a big doubt for the upcoming season.

In Short

• Pathirana was bought by KKR for Rs. 18 crore
• The Sri Lankan pacer has picked up 47 wickets in 32 IPL games so far
• KKR's pace department has been hit by injuries

Kolkata Knight Riders received a timely boost ahead of the IPL 2026 season when Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that pacer Matheesha Pathirana is fit and ready to join the team for the new campaign. The confirmation from the board eases concerns over KKR's pace bowling resources, which was hit severely by injury.

Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Bandula Dissanayake told PTI that Pathirana has completed his rehabilitation and has been granted the necessary clearance to participate in the IPL. However, KKR will assess his readiness before finalising his inclusion. Pathirana suffered a hamstring injury during Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup 2026 group game against Australia and went on to miss the remainder of the tournament as the co-hosts were eliminated in the Super 8 stage.

"As far as I know, he's fit and we have given him NOC to participate in the IPL, that's all I know at this point of time," Dissanayake told PTI.

"He has completed rehab and he is fit. But the franchise will be tasked to assess his readiness. At the moment we don't know anything about that. As far as we know he is fit and ready to join IPL."

WHEN WILL PATHIRANA JOIN KKR SQUAD?

There is no confirmation yet on when Pathirana will join the KKR squad, which is scheduled to leave for Mumbai on 25 March for their opening match against Mumbai Indians four days later. KKR will then play three consecutive home matches at Eden Gardens against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 2 April, Punjab Kings on 6 April, and Lucknow Super Giants on 9 April.

Pathirana was bought by KKR for Rs 18 crore during the IPL 2026 auction as the three-time champions looked to reshuffle their squad after finishing eighth on the points table during the 2025 season.

The Sri Lankan pacer developed as a specialist T20 bowler within the Chennai Super Kings setup since being a part of the IPL. Since his debut in 2022, he has played 32 matches for Chennai Super Kings, taking 47 wickets.

However, the 2025 season wasn't great for the pacer as he picked up 13 wickets from 12 matches but had an economy rate of 10.14 and an average of 32.62.

KKR's pace attack has faced challenges ahead of the season. Harshit Rana is recovering from a ligament strain in his right knee and is expected to miss the new season. Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman was released earlier this year following a BCCI directive and KKR replaced him with Zimbabwe's Blessing Muzarabani.

- Ends