Sri Lanka’s young pacer Matheesha Pathirana linked up with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 in the past weekend, having recovered from a hamstring injury.
Pathirana, who played a key role in CSK’s run to the title last season, suffered a grade 1 hamstring injury during the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh earlier this month.
The 21-year-old had limped out of the field during the 2nd T20I and missed the final game of the series. Pathirana, who claimed 19 wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 8 in CSK’s title win last season, also missed the IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
But in a major boost for the defending champions, the pacer has fully recovered and joined the CSK squad for the remainder of the IPL season. The young speedster was also seen training with the squad on Monday (March 25).
CSK used new recruit Mustafizur Rahman in Pathirana’s absence and the Bangladesh pacer shined with figures of 4 for 29 in his 4 overs, which saw him bag the player of the match award against RCB on Friday (March 22).
The Super Kings, who are without the services of another key member of the title-winning team, Devon Conway, played Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Mustafizur and Maheesh Theekshana as their four overseas player in the season opener.
Will Pathirana’s return force Ruturaj Gaikwad-led CSK to change the playing 11 going into the clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Tuesday (March 26)? Or will CSK persist with the same foreign options? Here is a look at what CSK could do to their 11 vs GT:
Will Matheesha Pathirana play for Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 Match 7?
CSK host GT in a rematch from last year’s final but in a different back drop as MA Chidambaram Stadium stages the match this time around. CSK will have a big selection headache going into the game, especially in terms of the overseas slots.
Pathirana’s return adds a big boost, but with Mustafizur shining on his CSK debut, it is unlikely that the Bangladesh pacer will get dropped from the playing 11 for tonight’s match/
Also, CSK may be a little cautious with Pathirana, who has just recovered from the hamstring injury. Plus, with no big Indian spin option to replace Theekshana, CSK can only drop Mustafizur to hand Pathirana a start. That’s very unlikely now.
Mitchell and Ravindra too will hold on to their slots due to their all-round ability. So, Pathirana will just have to wait to play his first match for CSK in IPL 2024. However, if CSK do think about a change, it could be in the overseas spin department, and Indian pace unit.
Theekshana could make way for either Moeen Ali or Mitchell Santner, while Tushar Deshpande, who was on the expensive side in the last match, could be replaced by Shardul Thakur or Mukesh Choudhary.
Mark Hoover Mykhel
source: mykhel.com