Will Pathirana, KKR’s 18-crore buy, get a game at all this season?

With IPL 2026 headed for the business end, there are serious doubts as to whether Lasith Malinga clone Matheesha Pathirana will be seen in action at all for Kolkata Knight Riders. The Sri Lankan fast bowler with the sling arm action, one of the highest paid overseas players from the mini auction at Rs 18 crore, may have recovered from the calf strain sustained during the last T20 World Cup, but the Knights are wary about exposing him so late in the day.

KKR, which had a horrible start to the campaign with five losses in its first six games (the only point coming from an abandoned game), has struck a winning note in its last three games, but is still languishing in eighth position. With the campaign having reached a stage where every game is like a last game, the Knights are not looking for undue experiments as they take on Delhi Capitals on the road on Friday.

‘’You always have plans to play someone like Pathirana but we will not rush him,’’ remarked mentor Dwayne Bravo. ‘’We will leave it to the coach and captain to take a final decision.’’

The KKR management’s hesitation with Pathirana is understandable as the likes of Bravo and Tim Southee, their bowling coach, have worked tirelessly with the untried combination of Vaibhav Arora and Karthik Tyagi, with both delivering to the best of their abilities. 

The thinking behind splashing the cash on 23-year-old Pathirana was understandable as he could be lethal in the death overs, but the injury picked up during the World T20 in February-March caught everyone by surprise. Cricket Sri Lanka issued a no objection certificate after an assessment of his fitness only on 12 April, by which time the KKR campaign had begun to unravel.

This once again brings to fore the logic behind jacking up the prices for overseas cricketers in the mini auction, where the supply is limited compared to demand.

For the storied career that the West Indian has had as a T20 allrounder, Bravo’s record as a coach or mentor has been somewhat underwhelming in the IPL — with KKR finishing eighth last year and also facing exit this time. This, however, does not deter the Trinidadian from passing on his expertise to the likes of young Indian pace bowlers like a Vaibhav or Karthik.

‘Tyagi is a bright prospect who wants to keep on bowling at the nets. Someone like Umran Malik also wants to grab his chance though we have not been able to make room for him. However, you can see the improvement in them,’’ said Bravo, whom South African Lungi Ngidi recently credited for teaching him the nuances of using the slower delivery.

Reacting to a media query on the tricks of the slower one, Bravo said: ‘’Death bowling needs skills but along with it, one needs to understand the game situation as to when to bowl a slowe ball. Only yesterday, I had a long session with Pathirana as he had some queries.’’

Finally, what’s his mantra to the KKR players in the remaining five league games of the campaign? ‘’We are not worrying as much with our position on the table. We are taking every game as our last game — just try to win the last few games and see where destiny takes us.’’