With Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) denying Nuwan Thushara the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), there are concerns growing over whether Matheesha Pathirana will suffer the same fate too. The Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) pace-bowling stocks are already thin and Pathirana’s absence will further dent their hopes of reaching deep in the tournament.
Why did Sri Lanka Cricket not grant Nuwan Thushara the NOC?
Sri Lanka Cricket has recently made it mandatory for the players to pass fitness tests, having introduced physical performance tests. Should the cricketers wish to play overseas T20 leagues, they must pass these performance tests to feature in them. Hence, the decision on Thushara’s IPL participation was taken following the outcome of the fitness test. According to Newswire, the right-arm speedster failed to meet the necessary fitness criteria, resulting in the board refusing to clear him for the cash-rich tournament. Hence, the 31-year-old is slated to lose his IPL contract worth ₹1.6 crore from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Newswire has also reported that Thushara is currently not injured and can bowl his matches but concerns loom over his fitness, forcing the board to take a firm stance. The likes of Dushmantha Chameera, Dasun Shanaka, Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis passed the requisite fitness tests and were given the green signal to participate in foregin leagues. Kusal Perera has emerged as an exception since he is currently not in the national team’s selection plans.
There is currently no concrete update on Pathirana’s availability or non-availability. However, the 23-year-old has also been a victim of various injuries in recent times. As a result, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) could take the cautious approach. The Sri Lankan speedster had already suffered a calf/hamstring injury in T20 World Cup 2026 and was slated to miss the first half of IPL 2026 after fetching a contract of ₹18 crore.
Kolkata Knight Riders endured a forgettable IPL 2025
Meanwhile, the Knight Riders had started IPL 2025 as the defending champions but failed to reach the playoffs, finishing eighth in the points table with five wins and seven losses. But the three-time champions have retained Ajinkya Rahane as captain for IPL 2026. KKR also had to arrange replacements for the injured Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, with Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Dubey, taking their place, respectively.
All eyes will be firmly on Cameron Green, who fetched an amount of ₹25.20 crore, making him the costliest overseas signing in IPL auction history.
