IPL 2026 has not been anything special for Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR has been able to win only two out of eight matches so far this season. Now on Sunday, KKR Brigade will face Sunrisers Hyderabad. Everyone wants to know why KKR is not playing Sri Lankan fast bowler Mathisha Pathirana. Pathirana has joined the team long ago. He also bowls in practice sessions. Before the match against Hyderabad, KKR bowling coach Tim Southee has given an update on Mathisha Pathirana.

Know what bowling coach Tim Southee said on Pathirana

Before the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Tim Southee told the media, “He has been with the team for some time. We will select our best team after looking at the conditions. He has been bowling well during practice and it is good to have him with the team. In the selection of the team, you keep many things in mind, among which the composition and balance of the team are the main ones. We will select our playing eleven after assessing the conditions tomorrow.”

Southee said that against Sunrisers’ strong batting line-up comprising of top batsmen like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, KKR’s focus will be on the powerplay. He said, “We have seen in IPL that the team which is successful in taking wickets in the initial overs has got a lot of success. So it is very important to start well.”

KKR is playing with these four foreign players

It is noteworthy that KKR is playing with Tim Seifert, Rovman Powell, Cameron Green and Sunil Narine. In such a situation, if Mathisha Pathirana has to be given a place in the playing eleven, then one of these players will have to be dropped. It is difficult to exclude Narine and Green in this. In such a situation, if Pathirana has to be played, then KKR management will put Seifert or Powell on the bench.