Matheesha Pathirana

Dubbed the Next Lasith Malinga, Matheesha Pathirana was born on December 18, 2002, in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He too, possesses a distinctive slinging bowling action coupled with impressive raw pace clocking regularly at above 145 KPH. His prowess came to the forefront during a college match in 2019. In that game, Pathirana left spectators awestruck as he claimed an exceptional 6 wickets and conceded just 7 runs. What truly stood out was his ability to consistently deliver yorkers, a skill set that troubled the opposition batters throughout the match. Pathirana's remarkable performance not only showcased his talent but also underscored his potential as a formidable fast bowler.

In the subsequent year, the young slinger earned a spot in the Sri Lanka U19 team for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2020, held in South Africa. Though he was part of the playing XI for just a couple of games, he did display his initial prowess as a bowler. Following the tournament, the young Sri Lankan attracted numerous eyeballs, including those of Indian Premier League scouts. And eventually, Matheesha Pathirana was selected by the then three-time champions, Chennai, for the 2020 edition even before he had played a single T20I game. And since then, he has been part of the squad of CHENNAI, and having played 14 Indian Premier League matches so far, he has bagged 21 wickets already with an economy of just 7.8.

Cut to May 2022, he was added to the Sri Lankan squad in the T20I series against Australia but unfortunately didn’t get an opportunity to make it to the playing XI. But eventually, in August of the same year, he got a chance to don the Lankan blues against Afghanistan in Dubai in the T20I series, and this inclusion was followed in their New Zealand tour in 2023 as well. In the same tour, he bagged an opportunity to debut in the ODI as well. Though Pathirana hasn’t got any opportunity in the longest format as yet, as also hinted by MS Dhoni in a post-match presentation of an Indian Premier League game, that he shouldn’t think to play in the Test format, as it could break his body bowling 10-15 overs in a day. But he continues to impress in franchise cricket across the globe. In the inaugural season of the International League T20, he was part of the Desert Vipers, and finally, he made his first-ever Indian Premier League appearance playing for Chennai against Gujarat in the 2022 edition. MS Dhoni has a huge role in his development as a cricketer. He has a bright future ahead as at this very age of 22, he has acquired some valuable learnings from the greats of the sport.