In what must be gladdening news for Kolkata Knight Riders, Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana has been declared fit to play in the upcoming 19th season of the Indian Premier League that kicks off on March 28.
During Sri Lanka’s group T20 World Cup match against Australia, the fast bowler picked up a calf strain and didn’t participate in the rest of the tournament. Sri Lanka suffered big time because of that, having already lost Wanindu Hasaranga to injury earlier in the tournament. They lost all their matches in the Super 8s.
PTI has reported that Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Bandula Dissanayake has confirmed to them that the 23-year-old has been given the go-ahead to participate in the high-profile league after he had recovered through rehabilitation.
"As far as I know, he's fit, and we have given him NOC to participate in the IPL, that's all I know at this point of time," Dissanayake said.
{{/usCountry}}"As far as I know, he's fit, and we have given him NOC to participate in the IPL, that's all I know at this point of time," Dissanayake said.
{{/usCountry}}"He has completed rehab and he is fit. But the franchise will be tasked to assess his readiness. At the moment, we don't know anything about that. As far as we know, he is fit and ready to join IPL," he added.
Pathirana is a very skilled T20 bowler, and the Knight Riders will be pleased to hear the news of his full recovery, and that he is available for selection. They spent ₹18 crore for his services at the last auction.
After the Harshit Rana blow, KKR will breathe a sigh of relief over Pathirana
Harshit Rana’s unavailability news that emerged a few days ago had really shaken the KKR camp to its core. Rana underwent surgery on his knee, and that made him out of contention. The allrounder had picked up a ligament strain during a T20 World Cup warm-up; as a result, he had to miss the entire tournament held in India and Sri Lanka. But now Pathirana’s availability will soften that blow to some extent.
Earlier this month, KKR announced the signing of Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani to bolster their bowling department. The 29-year-old right-arm medium pacer came in as a replacement for Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman, who had been dropped by the IPL franchise in January earlier this year on account of the political tensions between India and Bangladesh.
KKR will start their campaign on March 29 against five-time champions Mumbai Indians, at the Wankhede Stadium. On April 2 and 6, they host Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens. On April 9, they play Lucknow Super Giants. The entire IPL schedule is not out yet owing to the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam.