Former New Zealand pace bowler Simon Doull slammed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for lacking transparency about Sri Lankan seamer Matheesha Pathirana’s availability amidst their poor IPL 2026 season. However, Pathirana was recently cleared of his injury and obtained his No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Sri Lankan Board as well.
Yet, he missed KKR’s match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) last night due to logistical issues, as per several reports as well. Unfortunately, his absence made things tough for KKR as they lost their fifth game in six outings to remain at the bottom of the points table as well.
Talking about this, Doull said on Cricbuzz: “We have to make assumptions and it’s not just KKR but every team. They hide things and hide behind things thinking it’s better for them, it’s not. It only leads to speculation. Just be open and put out a message on your social media pages. I don’t really want to see players eating a cake and having coffee. I would rather know who’s available and who’s not available.”
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“Just be open and transparent and if you are, you’ll get some leeway. We know he has been picked up at the auction and he’s here. What logistical reasons are unclear. We want to know where he is because he will make a difference to them,” he again shared.
Simon Doull also shared surprise over KKR all-rounder Cameron Green not bowling an over in their latest defeat to GT. Having been cleared to bowl after the initial few games, Green bowled four expensive overs in KKR’s last two outings. However, Green once again did not bowl against GT as well.
“They were undone by swing early in their batting innings. Yet they go to a spinner in Anukul Roy in the third over. Green can genuinely swing the ball. Barring an injury, I am not sure why he is bowling one game and not the next. But I still would have stuck to the seam bowlers in the first four overs to try and get the shape with the new ball,” Simon Doull concluded.
