Matheesha Pathirana looked in good rhythm against England.
Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana looked in good rhythm in the first T20I against England, bowling with high pace and better accuracy. He has had injury issues lately, and his release points were also higher than usual.
However, Pathirana has worked on these issues and registered a spell of 1/18 across four overs, when three other Sri Lankan bowlers went for more than 9 runs per over. He explained that an injury disrupted his release points, and his focus was on repetition during the off-season.
“Honestly, I didn’t do anything major, just simple, basic things. The main thing was increasing the number of repetitions in practice. If there is any improvement, that’s the reason. In terms of practice, I increased it greatly.”
Matheesha Pathirana didn’t have a great 2025, struggling with poor form and injuries throughout the year. Hence, he featured in only two T20Is for Sri Lanka, and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also released him ahead of IPL 2026 auction.
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However, he has worked on certain aspects with Lasith Malinga and others in Sri Lanka’s coaching staff to regain his old rhythm and form. Last night, Pathirana bowled most deliveries in excess of 145 km/h, and his errors on lines and lengths were also minimal, though he bowled a couple of wayward deliveries.
Sri Lanka would want Matheesha Pathirana to keep his form going ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, since Dushmantha Chameera is also vulnerable and can crumble at any time, while Nuwan Thushara doesn’t seem to be in the plans for now. He bowled in unnatural phases, like two overs in the powerplay, which might be a trial to give him a greater role in the mega event.
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