"Hopefully somewhere mid-April": Abhishek Nayar provides official update on Matheesha Pathirana availability for IPL 2026

The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just a few days away, as the franchises have their final round of training ahead of the mega event in India. One of 10 franchises, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosted a press conference ahead of their first game against the Mumbai Indians on March 29, at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Ahead of the first game, the head coach, Abhishek Nayar, provided a massive update on the Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who was bought during last year's auction for a hefty price of INR 18 crore. Matheesha Pathiranahas been out injured since February 16, 2026, as he picked up a hamstring pull during Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup group stage match against Australia.

KKR Head coach provides update on Matheesha Pathirana

Since then, Matheesha Pathirana has been doing rehab. His manager provided an update about his availability in the IPL 2026. As per recent reports, he has been fit but requires the NOC from the national cricket board and a fitness certificate from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in order to participate in the league.

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During the press-conference, Abhishek Nayar provided an update about the premium fast bowler. He stated that the pacer will not be available for the initial games for the three-time winners and will join the squad mid-April.

They look after his [Matheesha Pathirana] rehab- Abhishek Nayar

Nayar said, "He is with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. They look after his rehab. The latest communication we sort of had is hopefully, somewhere in mid-April, they feel he will be match fit. That’s what we know as of now. That’s the update we got from the board. That’s how it’s looking now."

"I think in any tournament with any team, once you lose some of the key bowling options, these are not things they plan for, but these are things they have to accept. The good thing about Indian cricket, especially at the moment, they have a lot of them."

I think we’ll be fine- Abhishek Nayar

"So they have some guys that we are, as the coach mentioned, that we are looking at, definitely going to fill the spot. There are the likes of Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi. These guys are also players who represent the national team at some point in time, and have also played in the IPL before. They are young and exciting talents," he said.

Abhishek Nayar concluded, saying, "So, for me, personally, I’m happy along with Tim (Southee) to work with this group of fast bowlers. We have the best spin duo in the entire competition. So from a bowling point of view, I think we’ll be fine. Also, we can’t forget Vaibhav (Arora), who had a fantastic season last year, been the leader of the attack for a few seasons as well."

KKR have the likes of Blessing Muzarabani, who have been in good form in the T20 World Cup. Picking up 13 wickets for Zimbabwe. So KKR might miss Matheesha Pathirana in their death overs as they do not have an out and out death bowler with Rana and Pathirana out.

Also Read: KKR assistant coach leaks Cameron Green's batting position ahead of IPL 2026