Matheesha Pathirana was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022 as a player replacement for the injured Adam Milne. Born on 18 December 2002 in Kandy, Sri Lanka, the 19-year-old right-arm medium pacer and right-handed batter featured in Sri Lanka’s U19 World Cup squads in 2020 and 2022. It will be interesting to see how the young talented pacer will be utilized in CSK’s plans for the 2022 edition of the tournament.
Matheesha Pathirana Biography
| Full name | Matheesha Pathirana |
| Nick Name | Little Slings |
| Date of Birth/DOB/ age | Dec 18, 2002 (21 years) |
| Birth Place | Kandy |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Sagittarius |
| Profession | Cricketer (Bowler) |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Cricket Role | Bowler |
| Father name | Anura Pathirana (businessman) |
| Mother name | Name Not Known |
| Married | Unmarried |
| Spouse or Girlfriend | Not Known |
| Children | Not Known |
| Education Qualification | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Current Residence | Harispathuwa, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lanka |
| Batting Style | Right hand Bat |
| Bowling Style | Right arm Fast |
| International Debut | ODI– Not yet played Test– Not yet played T20– 27 August 2022 against Afghanistan at Dubai (DSC) |
| Teams | Sri Lanka U19, Chennai Super Kings, Sri Lanka, Kandy Warriors, Bangla Tigers, Kandy Falcons, Desert Vipers, Colombo Strikers, Trinbago Knight Riders |
Matheesha Pathirana Physical Statistics
| Height | in centimeters– 187 cm in meters– 1.87 m in feet & inches– 6’ 2” |
| Weight | |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
Matheesha Pathirana Profile
A bowler with a slingy action, Matheesha Pathirana made his international debut for Sri Lanka in August 2022 during the Asia Cup against Afghanistan. It wasn’t a debut to remember though as Sri Lanka were beaten by Afghanistan in that game by 8 wickets. Pathirana conceded 16 runs in the only over he bowled in the 20-20 contest. His ODI debut came against the same oppositon 10 months later, and once again Pathirana couldn’t chip in with a substantial contribution as he managed to pick only 1 wicket in the 50-50 over contest. Sri Lanka ended on the losing side once again as Afghanistan won the match by 6 wickets. Pathirana’s start to his international career wouldn’t be a pleasant one, however, the pace bowler had an impressive season for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023 where he picked 10 wickets in the tournament and played a pivotal role in CSK’s successful campaign. As a result of Pathirana’s crucial spells, CSK managed to win a few games. An impactful bowler in the shortest bowler, but it will be interesting to see if he manages to be equally impactful in the ODI format.
Matheesha Pathirana Career Stats
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODIs | 12 | 12 | 508 | 616 | 17 | 4/32 | 4/32 | 36.23 | 7.27 | 29.8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T20Is | 1 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 0 | – | – | – | 16.00 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FC | 2 | 3 | 150 | 80 | 5 | 4/46 | 4/54 | 16.00 | 3.20 | 30.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 17 | 17 | 720 | 827 | 22 | 4/32 | 4/32 | 37.59 | 6.89 | 32.7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T20s | 30 | 30 | 604 | 814 | 38 | 3/15 | 3/15 | 21.42 | 8.08 | 15.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODIs | 12 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 2.20 | 35 | 31.42 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| T20Is | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5.00 | 12 | 41.66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FC | 2 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 7.50 | 26 | 57.69 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 17 | 11 | 5 | 19 | 5* | 3.16 | 74 | 25.67 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| T20s | 30 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 4.25 | 32 | 53.12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Matheesha Pathirana IPL Auction Price History
| Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 20 Lakhs | Chennai |
| 2024 | 20 Lakhs | Chennai |
Matheesha Pathirana’s Social Media Accounts
| MATHEESHA PATHIRANA (@matheesha.pathirana_99) | |
| Matheesha Pathirana (@matheesha_9) | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | |
| Wikipedia | Matheesha Pathirana |
Some Lesser-Known Facts About Matheesha Pathirana
- Matheesha Pathirana is a Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays for Sri Lanka’s national cricket team primarily as a bowler. He is a death-over specialist.
- He grew up in a middle-class family.
- All his family members have an interest in music. Matheesha’s father used to play the guitar for a music band in his youth. His mother was associated with the ‘Salalihiniyo’ band as a rhythm guitarist. His sister Vishuka is an accomplished piano player, and his sister Tharindi is a guitarist. Matheesha is also good at playing the piano and singing.
- Pathirana started playing cricket at home as a toddler. In an interview, his father revealed that Matheesha eagerly waited for his father to return home from work so that he could play cricket with him.
- While studying at Ranabima Royal College school, Matheesha started playing cricket for the school’s cricket team. Initially, he played for the team, both as a batter and bowler, and later, focused on improving his bowling.
- Inclined towards music from a young age, Matheesha appeared in music examinations up to class six.
- Meanwhile, he also got involved in baseball which apparently helped him to develop his bowling action.
- When his cricket coach noticed potential in him, he asked Matheesha’s father to enroll him at a cricket academy.
- While he was playing for his school’s cricket team, he got an opportunity to represent the Kandy district school team at the district level and grabbed the attention of upcountry cricket fans.
- He then joined the Kettarama fast bowling academy, where he sharpened his bowling skills under the guidance of Chamila Gamage and a few other cricket coaches. At the academy, he came to the notice of Chaminda Vaas, a Sri Lankan fast-bowling coach, who impressed with his performance, asked his father to let him join Colombo school to enhance his bowling. His father, however, was not happy sending Matheesha to Colombo, away from his family, and declined the offer.
- Matheesha made several attempts to take admission to St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota. However, he remained unsuccessful.
- At that time, Trinity College, Kandy, invited Pathirana to join their school. He joined the school after appearing for GCE OL. At the school, he played for the school’s Under 17 cricket team.
- While he was still in school, he represented the Sri Lanka under-19 cricket team at the international level.
- Although he was included in various domestic teams and also started playing for Sri Lanka’s national cricket team, Matheesha kept representing his school (Trinity College) at various school-level cricket tournaments for a long time.
- In 2020, Matheesha represented Sri Lanka in the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
- On 19 January 2020, while playing a match for Sri Lanka against India at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, South Africa, Pathirana made an astonishing delivery to Yashasvi Jaiswal at 175kph (108 mph) which went for a wide in the fourth over of the Indian innings. The ball was believed to be the fastest recorded ball ever bowled in international cricket – across all levels, surpassing Pakistan’s speed gun Shoaib Akhtar’s record of fastest delivery of 161.3kph (100mph) which he registered during an ODI against England during the 2003 World Cup. However, later, it was said that it was not a 175kph ball delivery and it was merely because of a technical glitch. India won the match by 90 overs.
- Matheesha was a part of the SLC Greys’ squad for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League in August 2021.
- He played his first T20 domestic match for SLC Greys in the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League.
- Pathirana has also played several matches for Nondescripts Cricket Club.
- In May 2022, Matheesha was included in the Sri Lankan squad for Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 series against Australia. However, he could not play the series as he suffered an injury.
- In August 2022, Matheesha was named in Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the 2022 Asia Cup. On 27 August 2022, he made his T20 International debut for Sri Lanka against Afghanistan at Dubai (DSC). In March 2023, Matheesha Pathirana was named to Sri Lanka’s T20 International squad for its T20I series against New Zealand.
- In March 2023, Matheesha Pathirana was included in Sri Lanka’s One Day International squad for its ODI series against New Zealand.
- He played for Kandy Warriors (now Falcons) at the third edition of the Lanka Premier League in 2022.
- He has also played for Bangla Tigers in seasons 2021 and 2022 of the T10 League or Abu Dhabi T10.
- Matheesha represented Desert Vipers in the first edition of DP World ILT20. He took three wickets (in 4 innings) after delivering 90 balls (with 0 Maiden overs), attaining a strike rate of 30 and an average of 50.66.
- In April 2022, Matheesha Pathirana was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for the 2022 Indian Premier League for Rs. 20 lakhs. He came as a replacement for the New Zealand cricketer Adam Milne.
- On 15 May 2022, Matheesha played his first IPL match for Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans. He bowled in the match in the eighth over and took the wicket of Shubman Gill in his very first delivery and became the first Sri Lankan player and ninth player in the world to achieve the feat in the Indian Premier League. He dismissed Hardik Pandya in the second over of the match by deceiving him with a slower ball. He bowled 3.1 overs in the match and conceded 24 runs.
