Former India coach Kris Srikkanth has questioned Kolkata Knight Riders’ move to sign Matheeshu Pathiran during the IPL 2026 auction. KKR grabbed headlines when they signed Pathirana for Rs. 18 million after fending off interest from Lucknow. The move, along with the acquisition of Australian all-rounder Cameron Green for a record fee, has created considerable debate among cricket analysts and former players.
Pathirana was released by Chennai Super Kings after a disappointing 2025 season in which he took 13 wickets in 12 matches with an economy rate of over 10. Despite this performance, his overall IPL record remains strong with 47 wickets in 32 matches at an average of under 22 and an economy rate of 8.68.
Commenting on KKR’s decision on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said the Sri Lankan has been a hit and miss of late. However, he applauded KKR for also getting Mustafizur Rahman as backup.
“Pathirana is a huge risk. He is a hit in the dark. But KKR made a smart move by buying Mustafizur Rahman as well. Pathirana they have an understudy with Mustafizur. With Bravo’s presence, Pathirana was expected to go to KKR. But I was surprised by his price and the number of teams that went for him,” Srikkan said.
Srikkanth also wondered if Pathirana costs Rs. 18 Crore saying that his performance was below par last season.
“LSG went up to 18 million for him. Is he that big of a bowler to go for 18 million? His performance was very ordinary in the last season of IPL. Many players were dropped after one bad season. Someone like Fraser McGurk did not do well for one season and he is not even on the scene. Same with Devon Conway,” Srikkanth said.
Pathirana’s signing was KKR’s second biggest spend in the auction, after buying Cameron Green for Rs 25.20 crore. Srikkanth said he expected the Australian all-rounder to go for such a high price and expects Green to be a top-three batsman.
“But Cameron Green stuck to the expected line. 25 crore was expected for him and he deserves it. The good thing for Green and KKR is that he will bat at his preferred position. He will play in the top three consistently and not go to 4 and 5,” Srikkanth said.
The former India coach said KKR had a great auction but questioned whether they had enough strength in the middle order.
“They had a fantastic auction. Kudos to the management for picking up a good team. They came up with an excellent plan as they had the power of money. The only concern is a few spots from No. 4 to 6 in batting. Especially No. 5 in batting after Rahane and Raghuvanshi is a bit worrying,” he said.
KKR concluded the auction with 13 new playerswhich almost exhausted their budget, leaving only 45 million unused.
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Published on:
December 17, 2025
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