Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) received a timely boost as Madisha Pathrana cleared Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) mandatory fitness test and was given a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to travel to India for IPL 2026.
The Sri Lanka pacer has recovered sufficiently from the injury sustained during the T20 World Cup earlier this year and is now set to link up with his franchise.
Pathrana is expected to travel to India soon and may join KKR on April 17, the day of the match against Gujarat Titans.
However, subject to clearance from the franchise’s medical team, he will be available only from April 19 when KKR take on Rajasthan Royals at their home ground.
The development comes as a big boost for KKR, who currently sit at the bottom of the IPL points table after three defeats and a wash-out in their first four matches.
Their closest rivals Chennai Super Kings – Pathirana’s former franchise – have already overtaken them in the points table.
KKR’s campaign has been hit hard by injuries to Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, Mustafizur Rahman’s pre-match departure on BCCI instructions and spinner Varun Chakraborty’s slump in form.
Failed to defend 220 against Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers lost by 65 runs to Hyderabad and recently lost to Lucknow Supergiants after failing to close out the game in the death overs.
Pathrana, who was signed for Rs 18 crore in the IPL auction, was always expected to miss the opening stages of the tournament. Initial reports on March 20 suggested a mid-April withdrawal, pending exercise clearance and NOC approval.
He did not attend the fitness assessment on April 6, delaying his clearance.
Vanindu Hazaranga’s situation is different as he was ruled out of IPL 2026 altogether, as was confirmed earlier this week after suffering an injury in the T20 World Cup.