The legendary Lasith Malinga might have retired from international cricket but Sri Lanka has produced another baby Malinga in Matheesha Pathirana who has been creating a buzz since his introduction to the cricket world. The 20-year-old Pathirana has the potential to fill the void of Malinga. Pathirana's international exploits also earned him a spot in Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was yet to play first-class cricket when he made his IPL debut in 2022 against GT but was part of Sri Lanka's squad for the ICC U19 World Cup in 2020.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's legendary cricketer Scott Styrish has made a big claim that CSK's bowling phenomenon Pathirana could turn out to be better than Malinga going by the his recent heroics in the ongoing IPL. Pathirana has so far shone with the ball for CSK in the IPL 2023 and has snared seven wickets in six matches. Pathirana's bowling in death overs has come handy for CSK. Notably, he has bowled at an average of 27.57 and an economy of 8.27 this season.
"I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it's a massive call because he's too early in his career," said Styris on Jio Cinema.
However, Styris admitted that Pathirana is not as accurate than his predecessor Malinga but can pester any batter with his raw pace and unusual action.
He also added that even Malinga, who took 170 wickets in IPL for MI, was at his best when he bowled at 145kph.
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"He's not as accurate as Malinga yet, but Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph. And he only had about three or four years where that was the case. When he had that speed, and then the change-ups came, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed was down to 135, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the Yorkers," Styris added.
"What we've seen with Pathirana is that he's bowling at 145, 146, 148kph, so he has that natural advantage. He hits the yorkers pretty well. As he naturally evolves and gets more experience, he can hit those yorkers with that action as much as Malinga, but with a quicker speed and the ability for change-ups. He's the exciting talent for Sri Lanka, and exciting talent for CSK," Styris concluded.
The MS Dhoni-led CSK will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in a battle of heavyweights at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on May 6.
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