Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana hasn’t been included in Chennai Super Kings' playing XI in their IPL 2025 campaign opener against Mumbai Indians.
Brought in initially as a replacement in IPL 2022, Pathirana was one of CSK’s retained players before the IPL mega-auction, given his prowess with the ball in death overs. The slingy bowler has picked up 34 wickets at an average of 17.41 and an economy of 7.88 in the limited opportunities he has had since then.
After being ruled out midway through the previous year’s tournament due to a hamstring injury, the franchise kept their faith in the Sri Lanka fast bowler, and he was expected to feature in their playing XI for their first match of IPL 2025 against arch-nemesis Mumbai in Chepauk on Sunday (March 23).
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, however, pulled off a surprise after electing to bowl first, as Pathirana wasn’t included in either the playing XI or the list of five Impact Player options. Instead, Gaikwad revealed that the home side had opted for the services of Australian quick Nathan Ellis.
Jofra Archer has bowled the most expensive spell in IPL history 😳#SRHvsRR #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/jXoIYRjS79
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 23, 2025
While there's no official reason for Pathirana missing out on CSK's first match of the season, former CSK batter Suresh Raina did say during the pre-match show on JioHotstar that the fast bowler is dealing with an injury.
Form and injury concerns: Pathirana out of CSK-MI clash
Gaikwad likely too hinted about the same when talking of CSK's probable pace attack in a press conference on Saturday. He stated that a final call would be taken on the match day considering "whether he’s 100 percent".
"We had a good look at him in the practice game. He’s definitely looking in good shape, but what this year we’ve done in the auctions as well is we’ve got very good fast bowlers as backups. Even the Indian pacers. We have Mukesh, Khaleel, Anshul Kamboj has done really well in the domestic circuit. But it’s always good to have Pathirana in the team. Depending on how’s he feeling before the match, whether he’s 100 percent, we can take a call," Gaikwad said.
Pathirana’s current form has been a cause of concern as well. In his latest SA20 stint for CSK's sister franchise, Joburg Super Kings, he managed only three wickets from six outings at an average of 59.33 and an economy of 10.47.
His poor form, combined with Ellis’ additional batting skills, likely prompted CSK to leave him out of the lineup. Ellis' primary skill of a back-of-the-hand slower ball, as opposed to Pathirana's ability to land the yorker, could also come in handy on a Chepauk wicket which is expected to be on the slower side.
