Mathisha Pathirana.will have to wait for his much-anticipated comeback, as Kolkata Knight Riders dropped the Sri Lankan fast bowler from the playing XI for the crucial match against Lucknow Supergiants at the Ekana Stadium.Despite being available, KKR opted for continuity. Captain Ajinkya Rahane “We wanted to bat first. Right now it’s important to see how we are playing as a team. The bowling unit is coming together well. The reason we wanted to bat first was to give our batting unit freedom to bat freely,” he said. He added that the break helped reset the side. “The weekend off was really important. We sat down together, reflected on the last seven games and areas for improvement.”
Rishabh Pant Won the toss and elected to bowl, emphasizing the need for clarity in the process. “We want to put the opposition on the back foot first and look for answers as a batting group,” he said. Pant also confirmed a change, with the arrival of George Linde. “We have a lot of leaders in the group. We’re close to finding our way. We just need to stick together.”With both teams sitting at the bottom of the table, the decision to drop Pathirana adds another layer of intrigue to a must-win contest.Teams:Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane (c), Tim Seifert (w), Cameron GreeneAngkrish Raghuvanshi, Rowman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil NarayanRamandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Karthik TyagiLucknow Supergiants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (W/C), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Baduni, Mukul Chaudhary, George Linde, Mohammad Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mohsin Khan
