Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris believes Matheesha Pathirana has the potential to surpass the great Lasith Malinga in the future. The player-turned-commentator believes Malinga was at his best for only 3-4 years of his career.
Pathirana, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings, has put in some impressive performances this season. The 20-year-old, bowling like Malinga, took seven wickets in six games, with a 27.57 strike rate and 8.27 economy rate. The right-arm pacer has been very effective at the death.
Styris stated on Jio Cinema that the prediction was a “massive call.” He also mentioned that Malinga was much easier to deal with after he slowed down. The New Zealander stated:
“I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it’s a massive call because he’s too early in his career. He’s not as accurate as Malinga yet, but Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph. And he only had about three or four years where that was the case. When he had that speed, and then the change-ups came, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed was down to 135, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the yorkers.”
Malinga was a dangerous bowler in limited-overs cricket, with a practically unplayable yorker. In ODIs and T20Is, he is also the only bowler to take four wickets in four deliveries.
“He hits the yorkers pretty well” – Scott Styris on Matheesha Pathirana
Styris also noted that Pathirana’s pace comes naturally, and he expects the youngster to improve his yorkers with experience. He stated:
“What we’ve seen with Pathirana is that he’s bowling at 145, 146, 148kph, so he has that natural advantage. He hits the yorkers pretty well. As he naturally evolves and gets more experience, he can hit those yorkers with that action as much as Malinga, but with a quicker speed and the ability for change-ups. He’s the exciting talent for Sri Lanka, and exciting talent for CSK.”
The Super Kings had two consecutive losses prior to their game against the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday, which ended in a washout.
