The Kolkata Knight Riders received a massive boost for their IPL 2026 campaign with positive news coming from the recovery of Sri Lankan paceman Matheesha Pathirana.
Pathirana picked up an injury while playing for the Sri Lanka in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Consequently, he missed the remaining part of the tournament, and a question mark hung over his availability for the IPL 2026 season.
However, there's good news on this front for the Kolkata Knight Riders as Pathirana’s manager, Amila Kalugalage, shared a post on social media where the fast bowler was pictured wearing the Kolkata Knight Riders jersey. The photo gave a clear indication of his recovery from the injury and readiness for the upcoming campaign.
Here's the post:
In three games for Sri Lanka during the T20 World Cup, the fast bowler picked up two wickets with an impressive economy of 6.05 and was a death-over specialist.
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KKR Invested in Pathirana
Kolkata Knight Riders expressed a keen interest in Pathirana during the auction, and the franchise spent INR 18 crore to acquire the Sri Lankan fast bowler after he was released by Chennai Super Kings.
The biggest purse was remaining with the Kolkata Knight Riders after the auction and they used that money to restructure the team. The Knight Riders also roped in all-rounder Cameron Green for over 25 crore.
More recently, the franchise roped in Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani for IPL 2026.
It is widely anticipated that Pathirana will be an important part of the Knight Riders' bowling attack, particularly during the death overs with his unique bowling style and accurate yorkers making him a lethal weapon in T20 cricket.
Kolkata Knight Riders have previously won the IPL title three times in their history (2012, 2014, 2024) and will hope their new look attack can lead them to another title.
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Pace Bowling Concerns for KKR
Despite the inclusion of Pathirana, the Kolkata Knight Riders still have issues within their pace attack. The Knight Riders had also signed Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman for INR 9.20 crore, but his participation in the league was cancelled by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to political issues.
The young Indian pacer Harshit Rana is out for the entire duration of the IPL 2026 campaign after suffering a knee injury during a practice match against South Africa before the T20 World Cup.
Rana later underwent surgery and is focusing on his recovery, and the Kolkata Knight Riders have not officially announced a replacement.
With the Indian pacer out and player availability issues on the cards, Kolkata Knight Riders will depend a lot on the fitness of Matheesha Pathirana.
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