Kolkata Knight Riders have received a major boost with the news coming in that Matheesha Pathirana has obtained the no-objection certificate after clearing the mandatory fitness test conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathirana is likely to join KKR on April 17, the day they meet Gujarat Titans in an IPL 2026 match. But the report says that the pacer would be available for selection for KKR’s match on April 19 at home against Rajasthan Royals, once declared fit by KKR’s medical team.
KKR are now at the bottom of the table after three losses and one washout in four matches so far. With Pathirana cleared to join KKR comes in as a great news for the struggling franchise.
IPL 2026 has not exactly got off to a great start for KKR especially their bowling with Harshit Rana and Akash Deep withdrawing due to injuries, while Mustafizur Rahman was released before the start of the tournament on the instructions of BCCI. Their star spinner Varun Chakravarthy is struggling for form.
Pathirana, who was picked by KKR for Rs 18 crore in the last IPL auction, was always likely to miss the first few matches this season. He had suffered a calf injury during the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
By March 20, reports suggested that he could join the KKR squad only by mid-April and that too depended on getting clearance. For that, Sri Lanka Cricket needed him to pass a fitness test before issuing the required NOC.
However, as of the last update on April 6, Pathirana had not taken the fitness test yet. His situation is similar to Wanindu Hasaranga, who also got injured during the T20 World Cup and has now been ruled out of IPL 2026.
