A struggling Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have received a big boost as Matheesha Pathirana is all set to be match fit next week amid their whittling IPL 2026 campaign. According to a journalist from RevSportz, the right-arm pacer should be match fit for KKR’s April 9 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at home and will likely definitely play against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 14.
What injury Matheesha Pathirana has been dealing with?
The youngster sustained a calf/hamstring injury during the T20 World Cup 2026 against Australia in Pallekele. Having been ruled out of the remainder of their T20 World Cup matches, Pathirana has been investing his time in recovering from the injury to feature in IPL 2026. Pathirana was bought for a whopping ₹18 crore in the IPL 2026 auction and the Knight Riders will need him to pull his weight if he comes to play in the cash-rich tournament.
Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy under scrutiny after Kolkata Knight Riders’ consecutive defeats
Having lost two consecutive matches heavily and needing to pull their socks ahead of the match against the Punjab Kings on April 6, Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy has come under scrutiny. In the press conference following the 65-run loss to the SunRisers Hyderabad, the 37-year-old lashed out at his critics, slamming them for running an agenda against him. The right-hander said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
“I think I have one of the best strike rates so far from 2023. People who are talking about me (are) probably not watching the game or they have a certain agenda against me. They don’t like me playing. They don’t like to watch me play. The amount of success which I got, I guess they are jealous of me. I am not too worried. You guys know what I am doing. Just one bad innings…not a bad inning, but my intent was there. Sometimes as a batter, you don’t get that rhythm, you don’t get that flow. People who are talking, either they don’t understand the game (or) I think they want me to play a different kind of innings. They didn’t expect that Ajinkya Rahane will basically prove his game this much. So I am happy they are talking about me, negative or positive, either way. I am really happy that they are talking. Let them talk.”
In 40 games as captain in the IPL, Rahane has tasted only 14 runs.
