Struggling Kolkata Knight Riders Get Matheesha Pathirana Boost
Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is finally joining Kolkata Knight Riders late on Saturday, giving a much-needed boost to the side, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the IPL table
Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana is finally joining Kolkata Knight Riders late on Saturday, giving a much-needed boost to the side, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the IPL table. Having recovered from a calf strain sustained during the T20 World Cup, Pathirana has cleared the mandatory fitness test conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket and received the no-objection certificate. He is currently in transit and will link up with the squad ahead of their match against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
However, he is unlikely to be named in the playing XI straightaway, as the team's medical staff will first assess his match fitness over a couple of training sessions, a team source said.
The slinger pacer, who was bought by KKR for Rs 18 crore at the last IPL auction, was always expected to miss the initial matches after suffering the calf strain during the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
After recovering from the injury, Pathirana was initially expected to join the squad before their game against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The development comes as a big relief for KKR, who are still searching for their first win after six matches and remain rooted to the bottom of the points table.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side has just one point so far, which came from a rain-abandoned match against Punjab Kings.
Bowling has been a major concern for KKR even before the start of the tournament. Mustafizur Rahman was unavailable for non-cricketing reasons, while frontline pacers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep missed games due to injuries.
Their problems worsened further with Varun Chakravarthy struggling for form, leaving them heavily dependent on Sunil Narine and the relatively inexperienced Anukul Roy in the spin department.
KKR failed to defend a total of 220 in their opening game in Mumbai before Sunrisers Hyderabad took their bowling to the cleaners to hand them a 65-run defeat in Kolkata.
A rain washout against Punjab Kings earned them their only point before Lucknow Super Giants pulled off a thrilling win, exposing their inexperienced pace attack.
They also lost back-to-back away matches against Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans in their previous outings
Kolkata Knight Riders