Sri Lanka and CSK’s young pace sensation Matheesha Pathirana’s journey came to an abrupt end in the Indian Premier League 2024 as he got ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
In a video shared by CSK’s social media handles, Pathirana bid an emotional good bye to the team as he reflected on the learnings from the season.
Notably, the 21-year-old was the second-highest wicket-taker of the season for CSK with 13 wickets to his name from six innings at an average of 13 and an economy of 7.68. Reflecting on the season, the right-arm speedster spoke about his learnings from the season, especially from the former captain MS Dhoni.
“ It was really good season for me. I played six matches and got 13 wickets. I think I bowled really well and got one Man of the Match award also. I have to learn a lot of things from everywhere. So, in this season also, I learnt a lot of things from the coaching staff and not only coaching staff, the seniors like Mahi Bhai and all of them. So, I learnt a lot of things,” said Pathirana in the special video shared by CSK.
Pathirana picked up 3 for 31 in his second game against DC and followed it up with a match-winning spell of 4/28 in four overs against MI, which also fetched him the Player of the Match award. Further speaking about the franchise, the young seamer revealed that it was hard for him to leave this early as he considers the team to be a part of his life.
CSK was the part of my life now: Pathirana
“Yeah, really, it’s hard to leave early from this kind of franchise because CSK was the part of my life now. I love this franchise but anyway I have to leave this early. So, it’s very hard but I hope to see you next year also but we’ll see. I got a lot of love from my fans, CSK fans, so really I want to give that love back to them. Really, I love those kind of fans and keep supporting us and for me also. Thank you very much,” he added.
Meanwhile, CSK finds itself in the third spot on the points table with six wins from 11 matches having 12 points to their name. They will next take on GT on 10th May and will be eager to win all of their remaining three fixtures for smooth qualification to the playoffs.