Yardbarker
x

A shake up could be on the cards for Kolkata Knight Riders with Matheesha Pathirana's future at the franchise in doubt following a forgettable IPL 2026 season for the Sri Lankan speedster. KKR who had acquired Pathirana from Chennai Super Kings for the season saw his campaign cut short after just a single outing due to another injury.

Although the intention behind his signing was to fortify KKR's pace battery the 21-year-old’s fitness concerns prevented him from making any sort of impact. Speculations have previously linked the Sri Lankan's name with potential trade-offs in exchange for Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya. However the latest developments suggest that the IPL 2026 runners-up might just part ways with him before the upcoming IPL 2027 auction.

Injury nightmares Pathirana's forgettable IPL 2026

Pathirana's injury woes began while he was representing Sri Lanka in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, where he was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a calf tear sustained during the fixture against Australia.

After successfully completing his rehabilitation and receiving the green signal from Sri Lanka Cricket Pathirana linked up with the KKR squad in April. The Sri Lankan pace sensation made his KKR debut against the Gujarat Titans but was unfortunate to get injured during the match and had to hobble off the field after bowling just eight deliveries due to a hamstring issue.

The untimely setback consequently ended his IPL season prematurely and left the Shreyas Iyer-led franchise struggling to fill a critical gap in their bowling attack.

Pathirana's KKR tenure to end?

As Kolkata Knight Riders look to add more quality to their ranks ahead of the IPL 2027 season, rumors had surfaced regarding a possible trade scenario involving either Matheesha Pathirana or Angkrish Raghuvanshi in case KKR decide to make a play for Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya. However those speculations appear to have been put to bed.

In an update on social media, RevSportz journalist Subhayan Chakraborty shared :

"Pathirana is not an option for any trade for KKR. Most likely he'll be released."

See here :

The development means that the Sri Lankan pace bowler will not be used as a trade piece by the IPL 2026 finalists. Instead the franchise is likely to release him before the IPL 2027 auction to make room for an alternative.

KKR's bowling lineup has been a cause for concern as their pace unit struggled for consistency throughout IPL 2026. While Kartik Tyagi topped the wicket-charts for the team with 18 scalps, fellow pacers like Vaibhav Arora and Cameron Green were a bit inconsistent. Sunil Narine was once again KKR's most reliable bowler with the ball, scalping 15 wickets in 13 games. Pathirana's absence meant KKR failed to bring in the much-needed balance into their attack.

Pathirana is still recuperating from the hamstring injury he sustained during IPL 2026 and is expected to miss Sri Lanka's upcoming assignments as well. Should KKR decide to release him, the Sri Lankan will get another opportunity to test his luck in the IPL 2027 auction once he’s fully fit.

This article first appeared on CricketGully and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA.