There’s another Matheesha Pathirana injury update. He had a nightmare 2026 IPL season. A month after his brief and painful Kolkata Knight Riders debut lasted just eight deliveries, the Sri Lankan speedster has undergone surgery in France to repair a torn left hamstring. The surgery ruled him out of the ongoing Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies. Fans would now hope that the exciting pacer gets the much deserved relief from frequent injuries.
INR 18 crore Pathirana lasted just eight deliveries
KKR invested heavily in Pathirana at the IPL 2026 mini-auction, shelling out ₹18 crore after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) released the Sri Lankan pacer. However, injuries prevented the franchise from seeing much of their marquee signing.
Pathirana arrived late for the tournament after recovering from a calf injury suffered during the T20 World Cup. Even after joining the KKR camp in April, he spent weeks completing rehabilitation and fitness assessments before finally making his debut against Gujarat Titans on May 16. The comeback lasted all of eight deliveries.
After a tidy first over, Pathirana pulled up while running in during his second spell and immediately signalled for medical assistance. Although he attempted to continue, the pain proved too severe, and he eventually walked off the field, ruling himself out of the remainder of the season. That turned out to be his only appearance of the season.
KKR and Sri Lanka Cricket back recovery process
Pathirana manager confirmed the successful procedure through social media while expressing gratitude towards both Sri Lanka Cricket and Kolkata Knight Riders for supporting the pacer’s rehabilitation journey.
With recovery now the priority, Pathirana is expected to spend the coming months focused entirely on rehabilitation. Another of KKR pacer, Harshit Rana, underwent surgery earlier this year. He picked up an injury in the warm-up game of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. He missed the IPL 2026 but is now back and available. After getting selected for India’s T20I teams, Rana is likely to make a comeback in India’s ongoing ODI series against Afghanistan.
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