MS Dhoni advises Sri Lanka Cricket to keep Matheesha Pathirana away from Test cricket

The CSK captain was all praise for Pathirana at the post-match presentation as the Sri Lanka pacer impressed with a three-wicket haul.

MS Dhoni advises Sri Lanka Cricket to keep Matheesha Pathirana away from Test cricket

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had a piece of advice for Sri Lanka Cricket as the four-time champions defeated their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) by six wickets on Saturday. Dhoni shared a piece of advice on how to manage Matheesha Pathirana, the emerging star of Sri Lanka who plies his trade for CSK in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

MS Dhoni was all praise for Matheesha Pathirana at the post-match presentation as the Sri Lanka pacer impressed with a three-wicket haul. Dhoni hailed Pathirana for his consistency and claimed that the pacer can be a great asset for Sri Lanka if managed properly going forward. Dhoni also advised Sri Lanka cricket to keep Pathirana away from Test cricket. 

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“People who don’t have very clean (conventional) action, batsmen have a difficult time picking it and when trying to go after the bowler,” said Dhoni at the post-match presentation. “But his consistency, variation, pace makes him special. What’s important is to keep an eye on how much cricket he is playing.”

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“I feel he should not play red-ball cricket, not even get close to it, even play only ICC tournaments with ODIs and keep the rest as less as possible, because he’s not someone who’ll change a lot. This is what he’ll do. So you can always use him at crucial times. But make sure he’s fit and available for all the ICC tournaments and he’ll be a great asset for Sri Lanka,” added Dhoni. 

MatheeshaPathirana- the new death ball specialist

matheesha pathirana

Talking about Matheesha Pathirana’s bowling in T20s, the right-arm pacer has left a mark with his impactful performances, especially at the death. Pathirana has scalped ten wickets in seven matches in IPL 2023 so far. Out of these ten, three wickets came against Mumbai Indians as the pacer registered his best figures in T20 cricket. Pathirana registered a bowling figure of 4-0-15-3 and he was pretty happy about it.

“My journey with CSK started from last year, I came in as a replacement and played only two games, but this season I am playing more and I am happy. They (team management) give me a lot of confidence. This is my best bowling figures in T20 cricket and I am happy with the performance,” said Pathirana after being adjudged the Player of the Match.

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