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One of the standout performers for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season has been their Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, with him bagging 17 wickets in the ongoing season. Known for his slinging bowling action, which is very similar to former Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga, the 20-year-old has played 11 matches for CSK in IPL 2023.
Used mainly as an impact substitute in the second half of matches, he has picked up multiple crucial wickets for his side.
Pathirana joined CSK ahead of IPL 2022 but only played a couple of matches. He has mostly been used at the death, with his best IPL performance coming against CSK’s arch-rivals the Mumbai Indians (MI). He picked up three wickets for 15 runs in four overs to bag the Player of the Match award.
Meanwhile, the four-time IPL champions reached their 10th final after a comprehensive 15-run win over the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the first IPL 2023 qualifier, which was played in Chennai on May 23. They will now face the winner of the second qualifier to be played between MI and GT on Friday.
After their IPL 2023 playoff fixture at the Chepauk Stadium, members from Pathirana’s family met the team's talismanic skipper as the young pacer’s sister took to Instagram to share some pictures of their meet-up with the legendary Indian cricketer, which has now gone viral on the internet.
Pathirana's sister Vishuka posted three pictures of their family with Dhoni and captioned the post, "Now we are sure that malli (Matheesha Pathirana) is in safe hands when thala said "You have nothing to worry about Matheesha, he’s always with me". These moments were even beyond what I had ever dreamt of. #dhoni #dhoni #dhonifan."
Pathirana, who first came up to the occasion during the U-19 World Cup in 2022, has played only one T20I match for Sri Lanka, against Afghanistan during their victorious Asia Cup campaign in the UAE last year.
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