Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have had four league matches in IPL 2026. The team has faced defeat in three matches, while one match remained inconclusive due to rain. Now, after facing three consecutive defeats, KKR is going to get a big boost, which will be in the form of Matheesha Pathirana. Pathirana is ready to play for Kolkata.
According to Cricbuzz, Pathiran, who is suffering from injury, has received the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board to play in the Indian Premier League. Let us tell you that the franchise had bought Pathirana for the 2026 season for a price of Rs 18 crore.
Will be available from next match
It was told in the report that Pathirana will be available for Kolkata from the next match itself. Kolkata’s next i.e. fifth league match will be held on Tuesday, April 14 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It will be interesting to see how much Pathirana, who was out for the first four matches, benefits the team.
KKR is struggling with lack of bowlers
Apart from Pathirana, the franchise is also struggling with the shortage of fast bowlers. Harshit Rana, one of the main fast bowlers of the team, is already out. Apart from this, Akash Deep is also not playing. The thing to note is that Kolkata did not find any replacement for Pathirana, rather the franchise remained in constant touch with the Sri Lankan board for the promotion of the bowler.
Pathirana was injured in the World Cup
Pathirana suffered an injury during the 2026 T20 World Cup, due to which he was away from cricket. Now he looks completely ready to make a comeback. His comeback in the current season of IPL could be against Chennai Super Kings, of which Pathirana was earlier a part.
Mathisha Pathirana’s IPL career
Pathirana has played 32 matches in his IPL career so far. Bowling in 32 innings of these matches, he took 47 wickets at an average of 21.61, in which the best figure was 4/28.
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