KKR vs MI IPL 2026: Sri Lanka's star pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who joined the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs 18 crore during last year's auction, is missing from the ongoing clash against the Mumbai Indians. Pathirana debuted in their match against the Gujarat Titans, where he delivered just 1.2 overs before he limped off the field due to a hamstring injury. He continues to battle the injury, which sidelines him for the current face-off with the Mumbai-based franchise.
Pathirana stands as the only player dropped from KKR's playing XI. Varun Chakravarthy previously grappled with fitness concerns ahead of the game, yet the star Indian spinner takes the field.
Rovman Powell steps in to fill Pathirana's spot in KKR's playing XI.
Hardik, Surya back for MI
Meanwhile, the Mumbai-based franchise shakes up its playing XI. Skipper Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav storm back into the squad after skipping the match against the Punjab Kings. At the toss, Hardik revealed Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar joins the lineup. MI begins the match batting, with Ghazanfar included in the impact sub player list.
Hardik and Surya replace Sherfane Rutherford and Raj Angad Bawa in the playing XI. Raj Angad Bawa exits the rest of the season due to an injury sustained on Tuesday.
Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey. Impact subs: Finn Allen, Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi
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Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (WK), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Raghu Sharma. Impact subs: Shardul Thakur, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar