Matheesha Pathirana made his debut for Sri Lanka today in the ongoing first ODI against Afghanistan. The young pace bowler known for his slingy action like Lasith Malinga played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) and did really well. Perhaps, he was the team's prime death bowler and didn't disappoint on most occasions.
Overall, Pathirana picked up 19 wickets in just 12 matches at an average of 19.53 after sending down as many as 50 overs in IPL 2023. Interestingly, he was introduced into the attack after 10th over in almost every match and bowled around three overs in the last five overs.
Now that he has been picked in the Sri Lanka ODI side, the 20-year-old will be keen on continuing in the same vein making sure he delivers for his country. However, Sri Lanka Cricket will have to be more careful in terms of keeping Pathirana fit for a long time.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni has already cautioned them saying that the youngster should even get close to red-ball cricket and also play only a handful of matches in One-Day cricket. It remains to be seen if SLC takes this advice head on. Pathirana is also likely to play in the World Cup Qualifiers for Sri Lanka later this month.
Playing XIs for SL vs AFG 1st ODI:
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka(c), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara
Afghanistan playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
