Credit: X/IPL
During the latest episode of the “Lions Upclose” podcast of Chennai Super Kings, Matheesha Pathirana, the Sri Lankan pacer, spoke about the importance of MS Dhoni in his cricketing life. The 21-year-old remarked that after his father, MS Dhoni is playing his father’s role in cricket, helping him improve as a player with each passing day.
In the 2024 season of the IPL, Matheesha Pathirana has come of age for Chennai Super Kings, picking up 13 wickets in just six matches at an economy of 7.68. Heralded as the Lasith Malinga 2.0, the right-arm fast bowler is mostly used in the latter half of the innings, to bowl yorkers with pinpoint accuracy to pick up wickets and curtail the rate of scoring, a role which he has fulfilled with flying colours.
While speaking about his exploits for CSK in the IPL 2024, Matheesha Pathirana said on the “Lions Upclose” podcast, as per Times of India, “After my father, in my cricket life, mostly he (MS Dhoni) is playing my father's role because he is always taking care of me, giving me advice, what I have to do, similar to my father when I am at home.”
“He's not telling a lot of things when I am on the field and off the field. He tells just small things, but it makes a lot of difference. So those little things, I take a lot of confidence (from),” added Matheesha Pathirana.
Moreover, the next match for Chennai Super Kings will be against Punjab Kings on Sunday, May 5, at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala in the IPL 2024.
Here is the clip of Matheesha Pathirana calling MS Dhoni a father figure in his life:
