Sunday brings the Kolkata Knight Riders to the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to face Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 45, a clash that could shift everything for them this season.

Though they have stumbled through most games so far, lingering near the lower end of the points table, a string of better performances recently has kept a flicker of hope burning.

What grabs attention now isn’t just the game itself but whispers around Matheesha Pathirana possibly joining – this young Sri Lankan quick, missing till now, had left a gap no one quite filled when it comes to bowling at the tail end of an innings. His presence, if confirmed, changes how things line up when pressure peaks.

The bowlers tried different faces, but none stayed long. KKR also stumbled without its main fast man. The team is laden with injuries, including those to Harshit Rana and Akash Deep. Because of that, the team had to patch things together, and those late innings kept bleeding runs repeatedly.

The Matheesha Pathirana Situation: Is the wait finally over?

Fans of KKR have sat through weeks wondering when Matheesha Pathirana might play. Coming off a calf injury from the T20 World Cup, he missed the start without warning.

Then came fresh hurdles; Sri Lanka’s strict new fitness rules slowed his comeback even more. Bought for INR 18 crore, high hopes followed him like a shadow. Still, match day after match day passes. Not once has he stepped onto the field this campaign.

Now things look different. After news came through that he sprinted and delivered fast again during practice sessions, word has it that Sri Lanka Cricket gave Pathirana clearance. The coaching staff still hesitates to push him into play too soon; they worry what might happen down the road, but with playoff chances hanging by a thread, he may step out Sunday for his first match, bringing speed KKR hasn’t seen yet.

KKR’s Best XI vs SRH

If Matheesha Pathirana gets the green light, expect him front and center in attack, backing up spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine with solid cover in the middle overs.

Up top, where runs begin, eyes stay fixed on nailing down an opener; experiment after experiment has passed through, all aimed at setting a platform strong enough for big strikers such as Rinku Singh.

KKR Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Sunil Narine, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Matheesha Pathirana (impact player)