Matheesha Pathirana is a Sri Lankan cricketer who plays for the Sri Lankan national cricket team as a bowler. A right-arm batsman and right-arm fast bowler, Matheesha is a death specialist.
Wiki/Biography
Matheesha Pathirana was born on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 (age 20; in 2022) in Kandy, Sri Lanka. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius.
Matheesha Pathirana (left) in childhood
His family has roots in Harispathuwa, Sri Lanka. Matheesha Pathirana started playing cricket at home when she was a child. In an interview, while talking about Pathirana’s passion for cricket, his father Anura said,
He always waits for me to come home from work to play. He used to give me a bat or a ball and ask me to play with it and I was too happy to play with it.”
Matheesha did her primary schooling at Ranabima Royal College, where she started playing cricket for the school’s cricket team. Pathirana was also inclined towards music from a young age and appeared in music exams till class six. While studying at school, Matheesha was also involved in baseball, which helped her develop her bowling action. Initially, Pathirana used to play for his school team, both as a batsman and as a bowler. His school coach saw potential in him and asked his father to enroll him in a cricket academy. Once, while playing for his school cricket team, Matheesha got an opportunity to play for the Kandy district school team and caught the attention of rural cricket fans. Soon, his father enrolled him in the Kettarama fast bowling academy, where he was trained by Chamila Gamage and several other cricket coaches. While he was training in Kettarama, Sri Lanka, Chaminda Vaas, the Sri Lankan fast bowling coach, met Matheesha’s father and asked him to enroll Matheesha in a Colombo school to hone his cricket skills. However, her father did not entertain the idea of sending Matheesha to Colombo, away from her family. He, however, made several attempts to enroll him in the College of St. Anthony, Katugastota, but failed. Meanwhile, Trinity College, Kandy, invited Pathirana to join their school. He appeared for GCE OL and later joined the school. At the school, he was part of his school’s Under-17 cricket team.
Matheesha Pathirana as part of her college’s U17 cricket team
Soon, he grabbed the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka’s under-19 cricket team while he was still in school. Despite being included in various domestic teams and playing in the international arena for the Sri Lankan national cricket team, Matheesha has been representing her school (Trinity College) in various school-level cricket tournaments for a long time.
Matheesha Pathirana poses with the trophy won by her school cricket team (Trinity College) during her last tournament for the school
His family lives in Katugastota.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 6′ 2″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Matheesha Pathirana belongs to a middle-class family that loves music.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Anura Pathirana, is a businessman. Anura played guitar for a band in his youth. Matheesha’s mother is also a rhythm guitarist in the band ‘Salalihiniyo’. He has two older sisters, Vishuka Pathirana and Tharindi Pathirana. Vishuka is an accomplished pianist and Tharindi is a guitarist. Vishuka Pathirana is married to Ryan Pathirana.
Matheesha Pathirana with her parents
Matheesha Pathirana and her siblings
Matheesha Pathirana with her parents and siblings
Matheesha Pathirana and her brother-in-law
Religion/Religious Views
Matheesha Pathirana is a Buddhist. In an interview, while talking about his family’s religion, Matheesha’s father said,
My son is a Buddhist who faithfully attended Daham Pasal in his childhood. We as a family observe Sil and participate in most of the religious programs held in our village temple. I think religion helps to develop one’s mind. You may be Buddhist, Christian, Muslim or whatever but if you follow the teachings of your religious leaders it will help you face the journey of life,”
Cricket
Domestically
Matheesha Pathirana was included in the SLC Grays squad for the SLC Invitational T20 League 2021 in August 2021. On 22 August 2021, he made his T20 debut for the SLC Grays in the SLC Invitational T20 League 2021.
Matheesha Pathirana during a match for SLC Greys
He has also played a few matches for Nondescripts Cricket Club.
international
Under 19 years old
In 2020, Matheesha was part of the Sri Lankan squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. On 19 January 2020, during a match between India and Sri Lanka at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, South Africa, Matheesha shocked the cricket fraternity by making a delivery to Yashasvi Jaiswal at a speed of 175kph (108 mph) which widens in the fourth lap. India’s innings, making it the fastest ball ever recorded in international cricket – across all levels. He surpassed Shoaib Akhtar’s Pakistan fastest delivery record of 161.3kph (100mph) which he registered during an ODI against England during the 2003 World Cup. However, it turned out that there was a technical glitch in the recording and it was not a 175kph delivery. The match was won by India by 90 runs.
Matheesha Pathirana bowls to Yashasvi Jaiswal during the match between India and Sri Lanka at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, South Africa, on January 19, 2020
T20
In May 2022, Pathirana was named in the Sri Lankan squad for Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 series against Australia. However, he was later ruled out of the series due to injury. In August 2022, Matheesha was named in Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the 2022 Asia Cup. On 27 August 2022, he made his T20 International debut for Sri Lanka against Afghanistan in Dubai (DSC). In March 2023, Matheesha Pathirana was named in Sri Lanka’s T20 International squad for the T20I series against New Zealand.
Matheesha Pathirana plays cricket for Sri Lanka
One Day Internationals (ODIs)
In March 2023, Matheesha Pathirana was named in Sri Lanka’s One Day International squad for the ODI series against New Zealand.
Franchise Cricket
Indian Premier League (IPL)
In April 2022, Chennai Super Kings signed him for Indian Premier League 2022 for Rs. 20 lakhs. He was included in the team as a replacement for New Zealand cricketer Adam Milne. On 15 May 2022, he made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans. Introduced to the bowling in the eighth over of the match, Matheesha dismissed Shubman Gill in his first ball, becoming the first Sri Lankan and the ninth player in the world to achieve the feat in the Indian Premier League. In the second match, Matheesha fooled Hardik Pandya with a slower ball to capture his wicket. He bowled 3.1 overs in the match and conceded 24 runs.
Matheesha Pathirana plays for Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
He was retained by Chennai Super Kings at his base price of Rs. 20 lakhs for the Indian Premier League season 2023. In April 2023, during an IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, CSK captain MS Dhoni lost his temper at Matheesha Pathirana and gave him the death stare after Pathirana intercepted Dhoni’s direct hit attempt. on the stump
MS Dhoni loses his cool at Matheesha Pathirana during an IPL match against Rajasthan Royals in April 2023
During IPL 2023, he became very popular for his bowling action and earned the nickname “Baby Malinga.”
Lanka Premier League (LPL)
In 2022, Matheesha Pathirana represented Kandy Warriors (now Falcons) in the third edition of the Lankan Premier League.
Matheesha Pathirana represents the Kandy Falcons during a cricket match
T10 League (Abu Dhabi T10)
Matheesha Pathirana has represented the Bangla Tigers in the 2021 and 2022 T10 League or Abu Dhabi T10 seasons.
Matheesha Pathirana plays cricket matches for the Bangla Tigers
International League T20 (ILT20)
Matheesha Pathirana played for Desert Vipers in the first edition of DP World ILT20. He took three wickets (in 4 innings) off 90 balls (with 0 Maiden overs), achieving a strike rate of 30 and an average of 50.66.
Matheesha Pathirana plays cricket matches for Dessert Vipers in Dubai
Facts/Trivia
- Matheesha Pathirana likes to travel and listen to music in her spare time.
- He likes to eat Pizza.
- Apart from cricket, Matheesha is good at playing the piano and singing.
- With his bouncy action reminiscent of Lasith Malinga, Pathirana is often referred to as Baby Malinga, Podi (little) Malinga, Mini Mali, and Next Malinga in the cricket fraternity. He also likes to be called Little Slings by his friends and family.
- In an interview, when asked about the similarity in Matheesha’s bowling action with Lasith Malinga, her father replied that Pathirana’s bowling action was not due to Malinga. He said,
We heard his bowling action is similar to Malinga. But he did not copy it. He used to bowl like that when he started playing cricket. Rigorous training helped him improve his bowling skills.”
- He is very particular about his fitness and follows a strict exercise regimen.
Matheesha Pathirana at the gym
- Matheesha Pathirana is sponsored by GA Sports Meerut.
- Matheesha’s jersey number for Bangla Tigers is 81 and 99. His jersey number for Dessert Vipers and Chennai Super Kings is 81. His jersey number for Sri Lanka national cricket team is 99.
Matheesha Pathirana’s jersey number
- Apparently, in 2021, Mahendra Singh Dhoni came across Matheesha Pathirana’s viral bowling video which piqued Dhoni’s interest in Matheesha; the video is from a school tournament where Matheesha represented Trinity College against Jayasuriya’s (Sanath) school. Realizing the potential in him, Dhoni worked hard to get him into the IPL squad. Dhoni wrote to Pathirana, asking him to join Chennai Super Kings in the UAE. However, the deal did not materialize as Sri Lanka Cricket did not issue the NOC at that time.
- An avid animal lover, Matheesha has shared several pictures with cats on her Instagram account.
Matheesha Pathirana with a cat
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
