Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday announced that they have signed Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana as a replacement for New Zealand quick Adam Milne for the remainder of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season, said a release by IPL. Milne's journey in IPL 2022 has been cut short after suffering a hamstring injury in CSK's first match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26, where he returned figures of 0/19 in 2.3 overs and has now been ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Pathirana, called 'Junior Lasith Malinga' in Sri Lanka's cricketing circles due to resemblance of his slingy side-on action with the pace great and accuracy of bowling yorkers, is a young 19-year-old right-arm medium pacer from Kandy.
He was a part of Sri Lanka's U19 World Cup squads in the 2020 and 2022 editions. In the 2022 Men's U19 World Cup in the West Indies, Pathirana picked seven wickets in four matches at an average of 27.28 and economy rate of 6.16. He will join CSK at the price of INR 20 Lakh and becomes the sixth Sri Lanka player to be a part of IPL 2022. Pathirana is no stranger to CSK as he was roped in by the franchise as a reserve player in 2021 season and has played one List A match apart from two T20s at the senior cricket level. CSK are currently at ninth place on the points table, with only one win from six matches and will face Mumbai Indians in an 'El Clasico' clash at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday, seeking just their second win of the tournament.