Matheesha Pathirana

Matheesha Pathirana is a young Sri Lankan cricket player, born on December 18th, 2002. He is known for his unique sling bowling action. He is also often referred to as “Baby Malinga.” Pathirana began his cricketing journey at Trinity College in Kandy. Afterward, he quickly proved himself as a talented wicket-taker.

Pathirana gained wider recognition during the Under-19 World Cup in 2020. In a match against India, he bowled a wide delivery to Yashasvi Jaiswal at 175kph (108 mph). He was initially reported as the fastest ball ever recorded in international cricket. However, it was later discovered that there was a glitch in the system.

Pathirana’s potential was spotted by Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Although the Sri Lanka Cricket Board did not initially issue an NOC during the pandemic. Pathirana eventually got a chance to play in the IPL in 2022.

During his IPL debut, Pathirana made history by eliminating Shubman Gill with the opening ball. He became the first Sri Lankan and the ninth player overall to achieve this feat in IPL history. His impressive performance led to an international call-up in 2022. Although he was later ruled out due to an injury. Pathirana finally made his debut against Afghanistan in a T20I match that same year. He made his ODI debut in 2023 against New Zealand.

IPL Career

Matheesha Pathirana is a Sri Lankan cricketer who plays for the Chennai team in the Indian Premier League. He was born on December 18, 2002. Matheesha is from Kandy and is a medium-seam bowler. In 2022, he made his debut in the IPL. So far, he has played 14 matches and taken– 21 wickets, with an average of 20.14. His best performance was getting 3/15. He usually concedes about 7.96 runs per over.

In the IPL Auction of 2024, the Chennai team bought Matheesha for Rs 20.00 Lac. The last time he played in the IPL was in May 2023, when he faced the Gujarat team at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India. In that game, he took two wickets and conceded 44 runs.