There’s a new addition to the Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2022: Matheesha Pathirana, the 19-year-old speedster from Sri Lanka, has been roped in as a replacement for the New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a hamstring injury. Milne suffered the injury during CSK’s first match of the season versus KKR.
There’s plenty of excitement among fans about this new recruit by the defending champions – mainly because Pathirana has a slingy action similar to Lasith Malinga!
Welcome Matheesha Pathirana, the Young pace
into the SuperFam
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 21, 2022
into the SuperFam
Pathirana played four matches in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year in West Indies; there he was impressive for his pace, picking up seven wickets at an average of 27.28 while returning a slightly expensive economy rate of 6.16. Just like Malinga, Pathirana is also known for his pacy yorkers and he showcased that in the under-19 World Cup.
At the senior level, the youngster has played only one List A game and a couple of T20 matches, in which he’s picked 2 wickets.
He had gone unsold in the mega-auction, but now CSK have got him at his base price of INR 20 Lakh. In fact, Pathirana had been on CSK’s radar for a while: ahead of the 2021 season, CSK had got him as a reserve player and a net bowler. Pathirana joins his countryman mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana at CSK.
A funny incident happened involving Matheesha Pathirana during the under-19 World Cup, when, in a match against India u-19, one of the deliveries from Pathirana was recorded at an unbelievable speed of 175 km/h, the image of which went viral then and has now resurfaced on social media. However, clarifications were made and it was revealed that there was some technical issue with the speedometer.
CSK fans are hoping that Pathirana solves their pace bowling issues, especially with Chris Jordan leaking runs and no Deepak Chahar. However, that’s too much of asking from a young, inexperienced pacer.
CSK, who have lost 5 of their 6 matches so far, are also expected to soon announce a replacement for Deepak Chahar, who has been ruled out from the entire season.
