IPL 2026: KKR Keeping Fingers Crossed Over Pathirana Joining Sooner Than Later, Says Watson

(MENAFN- IANS) Mumbai, March 28 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are awaiting clearance from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for pacer Matheesha Pathirana to join the squad, with assistant coach Shane Watson saying the franchise was hopeful of him arriving 'sooner rather than later.'

Pathirana was signed for an astonishing Rs 18 crore at the auction in Abu Dhabi last year and has been recovering from a left calf injury which cut short his time in the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup. With SLC yet to give Pathirana a clearance, it means he will miss KKR's opening game against Mumbai Indians, to be played at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

“With Pathirana, obviously it's a waiting game at the moment. We are being guided by Sri Lanka Cricket and we are just doing everything we can to get him over here as soon as possible. We have got the exact same interests as Sri Lankan cricket as well. We want Pathirana to be here, we want him to be fit.

“We certainly would never push him any earlier than he needs to. The last thing that we want is him playing the first game trying to come back too early and breaking as well. He was one of our number one priorities in the auction.

“We know when he is at his best, the incredible skill that he has got and the difference that he provides for the batters. We have got our fingers crossed... hopefully sooner rather than later,” Watson said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

He also spoke about the plenty of quality T20 players Indian cricket has produced via IPL. "It's amazing for Indian cricket to see the amount of amazing cricketers that are coming through. But it's not great for the rest of the world to see, knowing India can put out, just say T20 cricket alone, a second, third... eleventh team and still challenge the best T20 teams in the world and probably win," added Watson.

He also hinted at KKR top-order batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi being seen as a wicketkeeping option, considering only the New Zealand duo of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen are the specialist glovesmen.

"Yes, he is. Raghuvanshi has been working tirelessly on his wicketkeeping for the last five or six months. We've got Dishant Yagnik, who's as good a fielding and wicket-keeping coach there is in the world, not just in India. He's been working tirelessly with Angkrish.

"He's certainly skilled, and we have seen him in the practice matches as well. His skill is certainly up to speed in dealing with what the IPL bowlers and KKR bowlers are going to throw at him. It means that we've got a number of options that we can go to, depending on the makeup of our team," he concluded.

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