Took 3 players together to cover that role

Former India pacer Mohit Sharma has lauded Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s tactics and noted that it took three players to cover Matheesha Pathirana’s overs after he got injured in their IPL 2026 game against Gujarat Titans (GT). The contest was played on Saturday, May 16, at Eden Gardens.

Chasing a massive target of 248, GT finished at 218/4, falling short by 29 runs. However, despite the win, KKR suffered a massive blow as Pathirana, who was playing his first game of the season, had to leave the field after bowling just 1.2 overs for nine runs due to hamstring discomfort.

Speaking during a discussion on Cricbuzz after the game, Mohit stated that when such a big player leaves the field, the bowling attack starts looking stretched. He noted that Anukul Roy, Cameron Green, and Saurabh Dubey combined to fill the void left by the Sri Lankan pacer’s overs. Mohit said:

“Overall, if I talk about filling the gap left by Pathirana, that responsibility was on Dubey and Cameron Green. Both of them fulfilled that role brilliantly. And the tactical changes made according to the situation by Ajinkya Rahane were all praiseworthy.

“That’s why, many times when your main professional player goes off the field, it takes multiple players to fill that one role. The bowling attack suddenly starts looking stretched. You could see that Anukul Roy was used, then Cameron Green was used, and even Dubey was brought in. So, it took three players together to cover that role,” he added.

With the win, KKR now sit seventh on the table with 11 points from 12 matches.

“Pressure falls on the captain” – Mohit Sharma on KKR’s Matheesha Pathirana leaving the field mid-game due to injury

In the same discussion, Mohit Sharma pointed out that pressure falls on the captain when a bowler leaves the field mid-game due to injury. He also noted that Cameron Green stepped up responsibly, bowling three overs in the match, including the 20th over, and finished with figures of 1/25. He said:

“After that, the pressure falls on the captain because he has to figure out how to rotate the overs. You’re not sure whether Cameron Green can bowl more after two overs or not. But today, he took responsibility. He bowled the third over in the 20th over and bowled well.”

He also noted that everyone had huge expectations from Matheesha Pathirana as he was making a comeback after a long time, but ended up getting injured again. He said:

“Everyone had huge expectations from after such a long comeback, gets injured. The whole world was waiting to see him return and perform well for KKR. He bowled the first over, and then on the second ball of his second over, he suffered a hamstring injury and had to walk off the field.”

Meanwhile, KKR will return to action on Wednesday, May 20, when they take on Mumbai Indians (MI) at home.