Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is expected to join the Kolkata Knight Riders squad before the franchise’s opening IPL 2026 home match at Eden Gardens against SunRisers Hyderabad on April 2. Pathirana, who was bought by KKR for a whopping Rs 18 crore, has yet to receive fitness clearance from Sri Lanka Cricket. Sources close to Pathirana suggest the slinger could obtain this clearance around March 25–27, just before the start of the tournament.
Amid rumours circulating on social media that Sri Lanka Cricket has denied Pathirana a No Objection Certificate (NOC), RevSportz can confirm that the pacer has not even applied for one yet. The NOC application process will only begin after Pathirana clears specific fitness parameters. This requires him to bowl a certain number of overs at full intensity before Sri Lanka Cricket grants him clearance to participate in the IPL. Obtaining an NOC from SLC is a matter of a few hours and should not be an issue once he clears his fitness test.
Pathirana has started bowling in the nets but is yet to go full throttle. However, people close to him are confident that he will be bowling at 100 per cent in the coming days in a bid to secure the necessary clearance for the tournament.
After picking up an injury during the T20 World Cup, Pathirana was subsequently ruled out of the tournament. He is now nearing full fitness, but with the IPL being a long campaign, he is carefully managing his recovery and not rushing the process.
KKR have been kept in the loop regarding his bowling and fitness progress. Pathirana is highly likely to join the squad and be available for selection when they take on SRH in their first home match of IPL 2026.
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