IPL 2023: The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League is currently underway and it has been a breeding ground for many youngsters who are still trying to find a footing in international cricket with their national sides. One such example has been Chennai Super Kings’s Matheesha Pathirana whose bowling action has invited comparisons with Lasith Malinga. Interestingly both Malinga and Pathirana hail from Sri Lanka. Pathirana’s uncanny resemblance to Malinga’s bowling action has helped him grab many eyeballs and the Chennai Super Kings team management is using him to his full potential and he is expected to grow from strength to strength. As of now, accuracy might be one of the problems for the Lankan allrounder, but it is safe to say that the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings outfit is heavily banking on him and so far, he has done the job for them pretty well.
Back in 2022, during the 15th edition of the IPL, MS Dhoni admitted to the fact that Pathirana is still learning and growing and is far from becoming a finished product, but this year, the Lankan youngster has come to his own and has been instrumental in the team’s success so far. Pathirana joined the ‘Men in Yellow’ last year and is expected to continue his association with the Chennai outfit. Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has now come out and made an interesting claim about the youngster and has compared it to the Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga.
Scott Styris while speaking to Jio Cinemas said:
In my opinion, he (Pathirana) can be better than Lasith Malinga. The call is massive, I accept and you’d have to be absolutely bonkers to claim that because he is too early in his career. As far as accuracy is concerned, he is nowhere near Malinga right now. Even Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph, but he had only 3 or 4 years left in his career. When Lasith had that kind of speed, then the change-ups came and honestly, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed came down to 135kph, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the yorkers.
Matheesha Pathirana who debuted for CSK back in 2022 against Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium has played 8 IPL matches so far and has picked up 9 wickets. He has bowled a total of 181 deliveries and has conceded 245 runs. So far he has an economy of 8.12 and an average of 27.22.
