A muscled-up Matheesha Pathirana has fired his first salvo at batsmen during his training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Chennai Super Kings seamer produced a low-flung good-length ball that shaped away after landing and blasted the stumps. The ricochet from the plastic stumps almost injured a support staff who could be seen taking late reflexive measures to move away from the ball screaming towards him.
One of the five cricketers CSK had retained in the auction, his colleagues and fans would pin hopes on him replicating his efforts of the past years. In 20 games spread across three years, he nabbed 34 wickets at a thrifty economy rate of 7.83 (considering he bowls at the death). But the injuries, accelerated by his unusual action, wherein he twists his body when releasing the ball, putting strain on shoulders, back and legs, has stalled his career from reaching the heights he could have. His previous campaign had lasted only six games, before he picked up a hamstring injury and was ruled out of the remaining season.
His recent form, though, has not been encouraging. In his last two T20Is, in New Zealand, he leaked 97 runs in eight overs and picked only a pair of wickets. In the SA T20, he could nab three wickets in six games, leaking 10.47 runs an over. He, though, would hope that his reunion with CSK and “father figure MS Dhoni” would revitalise his career. “After my father, in my cricket life, mostly he (Dhoni) is playing my father’s role. He always takes care of me, and gives me some advice on what I have to do – similar to my father when I’m in my home,” Pathirana had said on CSK’s Lions up close show on YouTube.
“I think that’s enough. He’s not telling a lot of things when I’m on the field and off the field. He’s just telling me small things, but it makes a lot of difference, and it makes a lot of confidence for me. At the moment, he knows how to maintain the players. Off the field, we don’t talk much. If I have to ask something from him, definitely, I’d go to him and ask him,” he would say.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
