New Delhi:Matheesha Pathirana and Wanindu Hasaranga are two foreign players who have not yet joined their Indian Premier League teams. The Sri Lanka Cricket Board hasn't given the two players the No Objection Certificate yet, and they are both hurt.
The Kolkata Knight Riders paid a lot of money for Pathirana at the 2026 auction after the Chennai Super Kings let him go. Lucknow Super Giants also bought Hasaranga for Rs 2 crore at the auction, but he is not with the team. The two players hurt themselves during the T20 World Cup 2026 and are now working on getting better.
During Sri Lanka's World Cup opener against Ireland, Hasaranga hurt his left hamstring. Pathirana hurt his calf against Australia. Both players missed the rest of the tournament because Sri Lanka lost in the Super Eight stage.
Pathirana and Hasaranga still need to take the fitness test.According to an ESPNcricinfo report, Hasaranga and Pathirana are two of the 15 Sri Lankan players who are centrally contracted but have not yet taken fitness tests. There are 45 players with central contracts, and 30 of them have taken the tests. Twenty-four people have passed the tests, and six have not.
There are different reasons why players haven't been tested yet. Hasaranga hasn't asked for a NOC yet, which makes his chances of getting into IPL 2026 very slim. Pathirana has also begun bowling in the nets as part of his recovery process.
When will Pathirana be able to join KKR for IPL 2026?The report also said that sources close to Pathirana said that the fast bowler wants to join the KKR setup by the middle of April. This means he could take the fitness test next week.
KKR wants to win their first IPL game, and LSG is having a hard time too.In the IPL 2026, KKR has lost both of their first two games. They lost their first game to the Mumbai Indians because they couldn't defend 221 at the Wankhede Stadium. The Knight Riders then lost 226/8 to the Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, which was 65 runs short of their goal. They face off against the Punjab Kings in Kolkata and try to get their first win.
Things aren't going well for LSG either, though. After falling apart in the middle overs, they huffed and puffed their way to the 157-run target against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rishabh Pant then led his team to victory on the second-to-last ball of the match. LSG lost their first game to the Delhi Capitals after only scoring 141 runs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. The visitors chased down the target in 17.1 overs.