Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra questioned Kolkata Knight Riders for not playing Matheesha Pathirana against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Raipur in the ongoing IPL 2026 on Wednesday. KKR handed IPL debut to left-arm seamer from Vidarbha, Saurabh Dubey, after Varun Chakravarthy missed out in the playing XI due to a niggle.
However, Chopra questioned why KKR spent a huge amount of INR 18 crores on Pathirana in the IPL mini auction when they didn’t want to play the Sri Lankan seamer. Pathirana had missed the first phase of the tournament due to injury concerns, but hasn’t been given a game since joining the squad.
“I have a question for you, KKR. Why aren’t you playing Pathirana? He is at the ground, but you don’t play him. If you don’t have to play him, why did you waste ₹18 crore? I am asking this question because this was a do-or-die match, and every match is do-or-die, where if Varun isn’t there, you go for a wicket-taker,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra said Pathirana could have been included in KKR’s playing XI in place of Rovman Powell, who didn’t get a chance to bat against RCB.
“This isn’t a ground where spin works. So you go for a pacer. You could have played him in place of Rovman Powell. You could have made Rovman Powell sit out. You are already playing Manish Pandey, and he is not getting to bat only. Tejasvi Dahiya is sitting outside. You could have brought back Ramandeep Singh as well,” he observed.
The former KKR batter reckons Delhi’s Tejasvi Dahiya could have been played ahead of Powell to make way for Pathirana.
“You had middle-order options. Your middle order is not getting utilized as much. So, when will you play Pathirana? I feel Pathirana should have been played in this match. You gave a chance to Saurabh Dubey. It is absolutely fine, but couldn’t you have given that chance to Tejasvi Dahiya in batting and played Pathirana? I have not seen a worse utilization of a ₹18-crore investment,” Chopra observed.
KKR will next take on Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Saturday.
