Pathirana was signed for an astonishing Rs 18 crore at the auction in Abu Dhabi last year and has been recovering from a left calf injury which cut short his time in the 2026 Men\u2019s T20 World Cup. With SLC yet to give Pathirana a clearance, it means he will miss KKR\u2019s opening game against Mumbai Indians, to be played at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWith Pathirana, obviously it\u2019s a waiting game at the moment. We are being guided by Sri Lanka Cricket and we are just doing everything we can to get him over here as soon as possible. We have got the exact same interests as Sri Lankan cricket as well. We want Pathirana to be here, we want him to be fit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe certainly would never push him any earlier than he needs to. The last thing that we want is him playing the first game trying to come back too early and breaking as well. He was one of our number one priorities in the auction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe know when he is at his best, the incredible skill that he has got and the difference that he provides for the batters. We have got our fingers crossed\u2026 hopefully sooner rather than later,\u201d Watson said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also spoke about the plenty of quality T20 players Indian cricket has produced via IPL. \"It's amazing for Indian cricket to see the amount of amazing cricketers that are coming through. But it's not great for the rest of the world to see, knowing India can put out, just say T20 cricket alone, a second, third... eleventh team and still challenge the best T20 teams in the world and probably win,\" added Watson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also hinted at KKR top-order batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi being seen as a wicketkeeping option, considering only the New Zealand duo of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen are the specialist glovesmen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also spoke about the plenty of quality T20 players Indian cricket has produced via IPL. \"It's amazing for Indian cricket to see the amount of amazing cricketers that are coming through. But it's not great for the rest of the world to see, knowing India can put out, just say T20 cricket alone, a second, third... eleventh team and still challenge the best T20 teams in the world and probably win,\" added Watson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"He's certainly skilled, and we have seen him in the practice matches as well. His skill is certainly up to speed in dealing with what the IPL bowlers and KKR bowlers are going to throw at him. It means that we've got a number of options that we can go to, depending on the makeup of our team,\" he concluded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n