Matheesha Pathirana

Matheesha Pathirana (මතීෂ පතිරණ; மதிஷ பத்திரன; born 18 December 2002) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who currently plays limited overs cricket for the national team. He has been referred to as Baby Malinga, as he has modelled his bowling action after Lasith Malinga in sling action.

Prior to his Twenty20 debut, he was part of Sri Lanka's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In January 2022, he was named in Sri Lanka's team for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. He was a key member of the Chennai Super Kings team which won the IPL trophy in 2023. He picked 19 wickets in the 2023 edition of the IPL. He became the youngest foreign player to win an IPL trophy.

Franchise cricket
In August 2021, he was named in the SLC Greys' squad for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League. He made his Twenty20 debut on 22 August 2021, for SLC Greys in the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League.

In April 2022, he was signed by the Chennai Super Kings, as a replacement for Adam Milne for the 2022 Indian Premier League. It was revealed that Pathirana was fast-tracked to the Chennai Super Kings side with the intervention of MS Dhoni for the 2022 season, and Pathirana went onto flourish under the leadership of Dhoni. In 2021, Dhoni apparently watched the clips and footage of Pathirana's bowling in a local schools cricket match in Kandy. Dhoni also expressed an interest in wanting Pathirana for the 2021 Indian Premier League and he then wrote a letter asking Pathirana to get vaccinated and join CSK team in the UAE during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made his debut against the Gujarat Titans in 2022 IPL edition. In the very first ball, he took the wicket of Shubman Gill, becoming the first Sri Lankan and ninth overall to achieve the feat in IPL. In July 2022, he was signed by the Kandy Falcons for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League. He became the youngest ever overseas Player to win an IPL tournament as he was part of CSK's triumph at the 2023 IPL. He also ended up 2023 IPL season on a high note by picking up 19 scalps with an economy of 8.01 in 12 matches, and he was used as a canny operator especially in the death overs whereas he rose with a reputation as a vital cog during 2023 season. Pathirana himself revealed that he learned the craft and art of playing T20 cricket through the mentorship of MS Dhoni.



International career
In May 2022, he was named in Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Australia. However, he was ruled out due to an injury and did not play the series. In August 2022, he was named in Sri Lanka's T20I squad for the 2022 Asia Cup. He made his T20I debut on 27 August 2022, against Afghanistan.

In March 2023, he was named in both One Day International (ODI) and T20I squad for the series against New Zealand. He made his ODI debut on 2 June 2023, against Afghanistan. He dismissed Rahmat Shah to claim his maiden ODI wicket.

In June 2023 Sri Lanka Cricket announced their 15-member squad for the ICC ODI World Cup qualifier. The national team opted to selected Matheesha Pathirana in their line-up During the first T20I against Afghanistan, Pathirana delivered a match winning bowling spell where he took 4/24 which included 2 wickets in the penultimate over. Sri Lanka finally won the match by 4 runs, and he adjudged player of match for his performances.

In May 2024, he was named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.