Kolkata Knight Riders head into IPL 2026 with a mounting pace bowling crisis as one of their big-money signings, Matheesha Pathirana, is expected to be unavailable until mid-April at the earliest.
Earlier in the day, Indian media including Cricket Age published that Pathirana has been declared fit to play in the upcoming 19th season of the Indian Premier League that kicks off on March 28. The news broke after PTI claimed to quote Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Bandula Dissanayake that Pathirana has completed his rehabilitation and has been granted the necessary clearance to participate in the IPL.
However, later, SLC cleared the air, stating that Pathirana, who has requested NOCs to participate in IPL 2026, is yet to undergo the Physical Performance Test, as he is still undergoing rehabilitation to recover from injuries sustained.
“Sri Lanka Cricket have yet to grant Matheesha Pathirana a No-Objection Certificate to participate in the IPL, with the pacer still required to complete a physical performance test before he is cleared to join his IPL team. Hopefully, he can join IPL, but not before April first week” a top SLC official told Cricket Age.
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.
