Sri Lankan quick Matheesha Pathirana revealed learnings from former India cricketer and current Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni during his two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Matheesha Pathirana, the fast bowler with a sling action resembling the great Lasith Malinga, said his experience with the CSK and playing under Dhoni’s leadership has been a big learning point for him.
Pathirana was bought by CSK for his base price of INR 20 lakhs in the IPL 2022 grand auction and was retained for the IPL 2023. While only played two games in IPL 2022, he made quite an impact, picking a wicket with his first ball in the tournament on debut.
However, with multiple bowlers injured in the CSK camp and unavailability of a few, MS Dhoni gave the Sri Lankan youngster a full chance to showcase his abilities and he returned with 21 wickets in 14 matches with a best of 3/15 at an economy of 7.96.
“As a youngster, if someone gives you confidence like that, it boosts your career. A player of that level showed faith in me and I believed I could do anything in that moment. Not only me, but Dhoni also gave confidence to all of us. There were 4-5 top players who were injured and he showed his trust in youngsters which was great,” Colombo Strikers’ Pathirana said in a media release.
“I learned a lot from Dhoni. The first thing is humbleness and that’s why he is very successful. He is 42 and still the fittest cricketer which is really inspiring. When I went there, I was a kid and no one knew me and they trained and taught me several things. Now, I know how to perform in any T20 game and how to balance my four overs in a match. Dhoni told me if I keep my body away from injury then I can achieve a lot for the team and the country,” he added.
Pathirana also spoke about Lasith Malinga and said that he idolizes the Sri Lankan great.
He said: “I am constantly trying to improve my action and bowling. Malinga was very happy when he met me because he saw someone more like him.”
(ANI inputs)
