MS Dhoni visited with Matheesha Pathirana’s family on Thursday, May 25, prior of the IPL 2023 final. The Sri Lankan family was delighted to meet the great captain. Vishuka, the speedster’s sister, shared numerous photos from the meet on Instagram with the caption ‘Captain Cool’.
“Now we are sure that Malli is in safe hands when Thala said “You have nothing to worry about Matheesha, he’s always with me. These moments were even beyond what I had ever dreamt of.”
The CSK pacer responded to the photo with a heart and shocked emojis.
Pathirana has performed admirably as a death bowler in IPL 2023. In the T20 tournament, the 20 year old has taken 17 wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 7.72.
MS Dhoni recently drew attention when he had the umpires wait for Pathirana to bowl the 16th over against the reigning champions Gujarat Titans in Chennai on Tuesday, which CSK won by 15 runs.
For those unfamiliar, an IPL player who leaves the pitch for more than eight minutes during a match must return for an equivalent period of time before being permitted to bowl.
According to sources, Dhoni said that he had no choice but to play Pathirana. He allegedly agreed to a slow over-rate and any punishment.
MS Dhoni on Matheesha Pathirana’s future in Tests
In a recent interview, MS Dhoni said that Matheesha Pathirana should not play red-ball cricket to prolong his career owing to his distinct bowling action. The 41-year-old told Jio Cinema:
“I personally think he is not someone who should play a lot of red-ball cricket. I think he shouldn’t even get close to it. Even in white-ball cricket, the 50-over version he should play as less as possible.”
“But make sure that he is fit and available for all ICC tournaments, and he will be a great asset for Sri Lanka. I feel he will serve for a very long time for Sri Lankan cricket, but we’ll have to keep an eye on how much he bowls.”
However, Lasith Malinga believes there is nothing wrong with Pathirana playing test cricket.
“MS Dhoni is saying he should just play ICC tournaments. I wonder if he’s just saying that for fun (laughs). It’s hard to do that when you’re playing for the national team. I think anyone who tells him not to play red-ball cricket is doing that because they think he will get injured.”
Pathirana will bowl for CSK in the IPL 2023 final on Sunday in Ahmedabad. In Qualifier 2, they will meet the winner of Mumbai Indians versus Gujarat Titans.