Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) snapped up Sri Lankan speedster Matheesha Pathirana for ₹18 crore in the IPL 2026 auction on Tuesday, December 16. He was released by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) following the 2025 edition.Pathirana's name sparked an intense bidding war between the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). KKR jumped in at ₹16 crore and ultimately signed the fast bowler.Interestingly, CSK did not attempt to re-sign Pathirana. The move surprised several fans, given that the five-time champions retained him at ₹13 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.Here's how some CSK fans reacted to the team's tactics on X:Arif Khoja @KhojaArifLINKPathirana would be badly missed😭 shouldn’t have let go #csk #IPL2026AuctionCric Seven @cric_sevennLINKReleasing Pathirana is definitely a blunder by CSK💔💥 Rebelwood 💥 @cinemAsuraLINKCSK did a big mistake by releasing Hazlewood last time.. Now they did a bigger mistake by releasing Pathirana🤡🤡🤡 @IPL @ChennaiIPL𝘼𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙪⁷ @bts__7angelsLINKI wish pathirana was still in csk 😭𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿r🥁 @sonderaloneLINKCSK is shocking everyone with their auction strategy, not bidding for Pathirana. No emotional quota this seasonNotably, Matheesha Pathirana has been prone to injuries in the recent past. He claimed 13 wickets from six games with an impressive economy rate of 7.68 in IPL 2024 before being ruled out of the remainder of the season due to a hamstring injury.The pacer missed CSK's initial games in IPL 2025 as he continued to recover from an injury. He finished with 13 scalps across 12 matches at an economy rate of 10.13.Overall, Pathirana has 47 wickets from 32 innings at an economy rate of 8.68 in the competition. He is set to play for a team other than CSK for the first time in his IPL career.KKR shelled out big money to sign Matheesha Pathirana and Cameron Green at IPL 2026 auctionKKR came into the IPL 2026 auction with a purse of ₹64.30 crore, the biggest among all franchises. The side used the sum to rope in two overseas stars early in the event with massive deals.Before Matheesha Pathirana, KKR went all out for Australian all-rounder Cameron Green. They signed the 26-year-old at ₹25.20 crore, making him the most expensive overseas player (third overall) in IPL auction history.Kolkata had a disappointing campaign in IPL 2025. They were the defending champions in the edition, but failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side finished eighth in the standings, with five wins from 14 games.