How MS Dhoni saw Matheesha Pathirana Viral video and called him in CSK franchise?

Matheesha Pathirana has hogged all the limelight for CSK in this ongoing season, and credit for his utilization should be given to skipper MS Dhoni who have utilized him perfectly in the crunch phase of the game.

MS Dhoni believed in Pathirana’s potential, went out of his way to have him in CSK squad after watching the viral video bowled by Pathirana.

“He was only 17 or 18 then, and it was peak and of the pandemic when Dhoni wrote a letter asking Pathirana to get vaccinated and join the team in the UAE,” Bilal Fassy, who set up the cricketing structure at Trinity College, where the pacer trains told The Indian Express. “He had already played the U-19 World Cup by then (2020) and was featuring in Bangladesh leagues. One of his videos of him demolishing the batsmen with yorkers had gone viral then and that’s when even the Super Kings showed interest in him,” Fassy said.

Pathirana is only 20 years old, and CSK is using him as “Death Over Specialist” in Sri Lanka he is already termed as “Mini Malinga” for his similarity in action and ability to hit yorkers in the crunch phase of the game”.

“We heard that his bowling action is similar to that of Malinga’s. But he has not copied it. He used to bowl like that when he started to play cricket. Rigorous training helped him improve his bowling skills” said Pathirana’s father while talking to different media outlets.

His coach Fassy is happy to see his lad performing in the world’s biggest T20 tournament and credited his X Factor quality towards his success at the highest level.

“We have so many boys who are still trying to bowl like Malinga and it is not an easy action to replicate. With that sling arm action, it is very difficult to get accuracy and speed at the same time. Over the years we have seen some of them even picking up injuries while trying to replicate the action. But in Pathirana’s case, he was able to generate both the speed and accuracy, which meant, people were taking note of him wherever he played,” Fassy said.