Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Matheesha Pathirana missed out on a place in the playing eleven against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) after skipper Ajinkya Rahane kept faith with his winning combination at the Ekana Stadium on Sunday.
Pathirana which was bought for ₹18 crore from the three-time champions during the auction last December, he did not play the first seven matches for KKR as the Sri Lankan was recovering from an injury sustained during the T20 World Cup 2026. Pathirana joined his new KKR teammates a week ago after receiving a No Objection Certificate from Sri Lanka Cricket.
“We wanted to bat first. The morale was really good. But obviously the last two, three days, sitting and sitting together as a team, we reflected on the last seven matches, what we did right, areas we can improve on. It’s always about improving, every match. We’ve had some good practice, we’re looking forward to the match,” Rahane said after the Rihab skipper opted to bowl after the coin toss.
Although Pathirana has started training, the Sri Lanka pacer is not considered fit for selection. He’s not even on the list of five impact substitutes. If all goes well, Pathirana may be available for KKR’s next game on May 3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. A place in the playing eleven for Pathiran will definitely strengthen KKR.
How has KKR’s IPL 2026 been so far?
Unlike other teams, KKR had the worst possible start to their IPL 2026 campaign, losing five of their first six games (with one game ending in no result). While pacers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep have been ruled out due to injuries ahead of IPL 2026, KKR were without the services of bowler Cameron Green for the first few matches due to a back injury.
To make matters worse, Pathiran’s absence has caused more problems for the Kolkata-based franchise. KKR finally won at home against Rajasthan Royals. If the likes of Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine and Kartik Tyagi shone with the ball, Rinku Singh proved what he could do with the bat along with Anukul Roy to see KKR home in the final.
LSG vs KKR playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Tim Seifert (w), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi.
Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mohsin Khan.
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