{"id":835,"date":"2026-04-07T07:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T07:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending"},"modified":"2026-04-07T07:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T07:58:49","slug":"kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending","title":{"rendered":"KKR Stumble Again as Pathirana Roadblock Hits; Clearance Still Pending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kolkata Knight Riders\u2019 downward spiral in IPL 2026 is showing no signs of easing, with each match adding to the pressure on the franchise. After suffering defeats in their opening two outings against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR\u2019s latest scheduled game versus Punjab Kings was abandoned without a result due to rain. Off the field, the camp is also dealing with a fresh hurdle: Sri Lankan speedster Matheesha Pathirana remains unavailable as he has not yet been granted the required No-Objection Certificate by Sri Lanka Cricket.<\/p>\n

Pathirana\u2019s NOC delay and Sri Lanka fitness situation<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Pathirana has not received his NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket, leaving his IPL participation uncertain.<\/li>\n
  2. Sri Lanka Cricket has indicated that Wanindu Hasaranga and Pathirana are among 15 centrally contracted players who are yet to complete the mandatory fitness assessments.<\/li>\n
  3. Six additional players have already attempted the fitness tests but failed at least once.<\/li>\n
  4. Pathirana, who picked up a calf strain during the T20 World Cup 2026, has started bowling again in the nets.<\/li>\n
  5. He is expected to be able to join the IPL in India by mid-April, depending on when the fitness formalities are completed.<\/li>\n
  6. No fixed date has been announced for Pathirana\u2019s fitness test, though it is anticipated to take place within the following week.<\/li>\n
  7. Hasaranga, who has been picked up by Lucknow Super Giants, is managing a left hamstring issue.<\/li>\n
  8. Hasaranga\u2019s ability to feature is still unclear because he has not yet requested an NOC.<\/li>\n
  9. At present, only 24 of Sri Lanka\u2019s 45 centrally contracted players have cleared the fitness checks.<\/li>\n
  10. The players missing the tests are said to be dealing with a mix of injury problems and logistical constraints.<\/li>\n
  11. Before IPL 2026 began, Sri Lanka Cricket had stated that permission to take part would only be issued after players successfully pass the required Physical Performance Test.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    KKR\u2019s injury-driven reshuffle<\/h2>\n

    With Pathirana\u2019s situation adding to their woes, KKR\u2019s squad has already been hit by other absences heading into and during IPL 2026. The franchise has lost pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who was withdrawn from the tournament, while Indian quicks Harshit Rana and Akash Deep have been sidelined due to injuries.<\/p>\n

    In the bowling unit\u2019s reshuffle, Vaibhav Arora and Blessing Muzarabani have been asked to shoulder more responsibility. The 2024 champions, however, have struggled to make consistent impact with the ball so far in the ongoing season, and the latest fitness and availability concerns only underline how difficult the situation has become for KKR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Kolkata Knight Riders\u2019 downward spiral in IPL 2026 is showing no signs of easing, with each match adding to the pressure on the franchise. After…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\nIPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T07:58:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1158\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"714\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"KKR Stumble Again as Pathirana Roadblock Hits; Clearance Still Pending\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T07:58:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\"},\"wordCount\":421,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\",\"name\":\"IPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T07:58:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp\",\"width\":1158,\"height\":714},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"KKR Stumble Again as Pathirana Roadblock Hits; Clearance Still Pending\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable","description":"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable","og_description":"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-04-07T07:58:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1158,"height":714,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"KKR Stumble Again as Pathirana Roadblock Hits; Clearance Still Pending","datePublished":"2026-04-07T07:58:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending"},"wordCount":421,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending","name":"IPL 2026 Update: KKR vs Punjab Kings, Pathirana Yet Unavailable","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-07T07:58:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"KKR\u2019s IPL 2026 woes continue as rain wipes out vs Punjab Kings and Matheesha Pathirana stays unavailable\u2014clearance still pending.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kkr-hit-another-matheesha-pathirana-fdb8.webp","width":1158,"height":714},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kkr-stumble-again-as-pathirana-roadblock-hits-clearance-still-pending#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"KKR Stumble Again as Pathirana Roadblock Hits; Clearance Still Pending"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}