Pathirana pocketed for 600m at IPL auction
Source:Dailymirror
Fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana who is battling to become a regular member of the Sri Lanka T20 outfit, has been bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for 18 crore or in Sri Lanka money Rs. 600 million at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction yesterday.
Pathirana had earlier in his career played for the Chennai Super Kings making his debut as a replacement in the 2022 IPL season.
According to KKR, Pathirana’s death-over or final overs record and strike rate had made him a top bet for the taking.
Matheesha has played in 21 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka taking 31 wickets.
An official said Pathirana was snapped up by KKR ahead of other fast bowlers as the most reliable bowler in what the experts call “death overs”. According to KKR, Pathirana can fire yorkers at 150 kph with repeatable accuracy which is referred to as rare skill sets that prompted the captain of Chennai Super Kings MS Dhoni to single him out from the rest as “protected property for longevity”.
But injuries had disrupted Pathirana’s progress last year, affecting both his availability and output.
It was said to be the main reason why Chennai Super Kings decided to release him after retaining him for 13 crore or 130 million Sri Lanka rupees ahead of the previous mega auction.
Pathirana has the fifth-best strike rate among IPL fast bowlers with more than 20 wickets. Since his debut, he has taken 43 wickets in overs 11 to 20, the second-most by any quick bowler in that phase.
Among pacers with at least 20 wickets in those overs since 2022, only Jasprit Bumrah has been more economical that interested KKR in Pathirana.