Kolkata Knight Riders have made a strategic squad change ahead of their crucial final round-robin match of IPL 2026, signing Karnataka's Luvnith Sisodia as a replacement for the injured Matheesha Pathirana.

Pathirana has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a hamstring injury sustained during KKR's win over Gujarat Titans last weekend. The Sri Lankan pacer was one of the Knight Riders' marquee signings at the player auction, having forked out INR 18 crore to avail his services.

Pathirana's arrival at the competition was delayed by a left calf injury sustained during Sri Lanka's Super Eight finish at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, before he was cleared to join the team mid-April. After warming the benches for several matches, Pathirana finally got into the playing XII against GT but bowled only 1.2 overs before going off the field with evident discomfort in his left hamstring.

Sisodia, a left-handed wicket-keeper batter who has played 15 T20s for Karnataka, is yet to play an IPL game. He has been part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and KKR in the past, having been signed by the latter at the 2025 mega auction. His addition bolsters the team's wicket-keeping stocks after Angkrish Raghuvanshi was ruled out with a concussion and a finger fracture.

KKR will stay in the hunt for the playoffs if Rajasthan Royals lose to Mumbai Indians. They must, however, beat Delhi Capitals by a huge margin in order to then pip Punjab Kings to the Eliminator spot.