'Dhoni asked him to get vaccinated and join CSK': How MSD spotted unknown 17-year-old in 2020, handed him IPL debut
Mahendra Singh Dhoni always had the eye for talent, and in 2020, he spotted an unknown 17-year-old who eventually became an important CSK member this season.
The Chennai Super Kings have made a bright start to the 2023 Indian Premier League, winning three of their five matches so far. In their previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the CSK produced a brilliant all-round performance; while the side posted a mammoth total of 226/6 in 20 overs, the bowlers stepped up to deliver a narrow 8-run win for the CSK in Bengaluru. While Tushar Deshpande was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/45 in four overs, it was Sri Lankan youngster Matheesha Pathirana who bowled brilliantly in the death overs.
Pathirana conceded only four runs off the 18th over of the innings, and gave away only one boundary in the all-important final over, while also dismissing a dangerous-looking Suyash Prabhudessai on the penultimate delivery of the match. The 20-year-old Sri Lankan pacer was also part of the Super Kings in the previous editon, playing two matches for as many wickets. The franchise had endured a poor run, however, as it finished 9th in the league.
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The game against RCB was Pathirana's first and even as he leaked runs at a relatively smaller M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the initial few overs, he recovered brilliantly to steer the Super Kings to victory.
Interestingly, CSK could have had the Pathirana's services much before the 2022 edition of the tournament. In a story reported by Indian Express, Bilal Fassy, who helped set the cricketing structure at Trinity College – where the pacer trains – revealed that Dhoni had contacted Pathirana in 2020!
{{/usCountry}}Interestingly, CSK could have had the Pathirana's services much before the 2022 edition of the tournament. In a story reported by Indian Express, Bilal Fassy, who helped set the cricketing structure at Trinity College – where the pacer trains – revealed that Dhoni had contacted Pathirana in 2020!
{{/usCountry}}“He was only 17 or 18 then, and it was peak of the pandemic when Dhoni wrote a letter asking Pathirana to get vaccinated and join the team in the UAE. He had already played the U-19 World Cup by then (2020) and was featuring in Bangladesh leagues. One of his videos of him demolishing the batsmen with yorkers had gone viral then and that’s when even the Super Kings showed interest in him,” Fassy told the newspaper.
{{/usCountry}}“He was only 17 or 18 then, and it was peak of the pandemic when Dhoni wrote a letter asking Pathirana to get vaccinated and join the team in the UAE. He had already played the U-19 World Cup by then (2020) and was featuring in Bangladesh leagues. One of his videos of him demolishing the batsmen with yorkers had gone viral then and that’s when even the Super Kings showed interest in him,” Fassy told the newspaper.
{{/usCountry}}Fassy revealed that Dhoni saw a video of Pathirana bowling during a school tournament.
“In the last three years, he has developed a lot. The video that Dhoni saw was not from a first-class game or something, but from a school tournament against (Sanath) Jayasuriya’s school. And very soon even Malinga, who has been coaching few boys with similar action, started showing interest in Pathirana too. Unlike others in the group, what impressed Malinga was Pathirana’s speed and the accuracy he was able to get. He still has work about his consistency in gaining accuracy, but you can see him gaining confidence,” Fassy said.
