Matheesha Pathirana set to join Kolkata Knight Riders squad

Matheesha Pathirana has obtained his No-Objection Certificate from Sri Lanka Cricket, and will be joining Kolkata Knight Riders squad soon. Bought for a whooping sum of INR 18 crores, the slingy pacer will be available for selection as early as their next match against Chennai Super Kings, in Chennai on April 14.

A death-overs specialist, he thrived at Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024, bagging 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.68 including a match-winning 4/28 against Mumbai Indians. In Pallekelle versus England, the 23-year-old produced figures of 1/18 in his full quota on an anodyne pitch. He ran the gamut from yorkers, 148kph thunderbolts, cutters on a length to spicy bumpers.

Even more impressive was the fact that he bowled two of his overs inside the PowerPlay. His comeback is key for Kolkata Knight Riders as on paper, their bowling lacks the heft that their batting now carries, given Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are out on the sidelines while Mustafizur Rahman has been deemed ineligible to participate owing to the strained relations between India and Bangladesh.