Did KKR make a mistake by buying Matheesha Pathirana for 18 crore at IPL 2026 auction?

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Krishnamachari Srikkanth has labelled Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spending INR 18 crore for Matheesha Pathirana as a massive risk. The 2-time champions had gone hard for the Sri Lankan pacer and battled with Lucknow Super Giants at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction.

KKR ended up spending 15% of their purse on Pathirana, making him the second-most expensive buy after Cameron Green. Srikkanth thinks that the move could either offer a high reward or KKR will suffer a huge loss. Over the last 12 months or so, there have been concerns regarding the unorthodox pacer.

Matheesha Pathirana, a risky buy for KKR?

He has changed his action, and the results just haven’t been the same. Pathirana’s average has gone from 16.26 to 34.22 in T20S from 2024 to 2025. His economy has skyrocketed from 8.11 to 9.84. His IPL numbers are even worse. He proved to be a liability for the Chennai Super Kings last year and was released despite heavy investment from the franchise in the last few years.

“Pathirana is a huge risk. He’s a hit-and-miss bowler. But KKR made a smart move by buying Mustafizur Rahman, also. They’ve got a backup for Pathirana with Mustafizur. It was expected that with Bravo’s presence, Pathirana would go to KKR. But I was surprised at his price and the number of teams that went for him,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

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The former India chief selector doesn’t have an issue that Pathirana was sold, but the number was rather shocking. Someone like Of course, Pathirana offers something unique, but it just hasn’t been working for him, and the number seems a tad too high for Srikkanth.

“LSG kept going for him until 18 crores. Is he such a big bowler to go for 18 crores? His performance was very ordinary in the last IPL season. Many players get excluded after one bad season. Someone like Fraser-McGurk didn’t do well one season, and he’s not even in the scene. Same with Devon Conway,” he added.