PBKS vs CSK: MS Dhoni is my father - Matheesha Pathirana

To describe the kind of admiration that Matheesha Pathirana had in his eyes while expressing his gratitude towards MS Dhoni is quite a tough thing to do. 

But as he described it in his own words, Matheesha Pathirana considers MS Dhoni as his father of cricket, who doesn't talk much but pays attention to the smallest of details. That's the most heartfelt and heartwarming message - a Sri Lankan could have ever given to Dhoni. 

Matheesha Pathirana expresses his gratefulness towards MS Dhoni

It was only yesterday that CSK's Bangladeshi left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman wrote a few words of gratitude for MS Dhoni in his goodbye IPL 2024 post. And only a few hours later, Chennai Super Kings' YouTube channel uploaded Matheesha Pathirana's message for the 5-time IPL winning captain. 

In a 7-minute long video, Matheesha Pathirana spoke in depth about his journey in the Indian Premier League and how he has felt working with the CSK camp. In one of the segments, the 21-year-old, nicknamed 'Baby Malinga', told us just how important MS Dhoni has been for his career.

Pathirana arrived at the richest cricketing league as a replacement bowler in 2022 when aged just 19. By 20, he has 34 IPL wickets from just 20 matches but most importantly, he has an Indian Premier League trophy to show for. All of that happened for him under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. 

So not only is it clear that Dhoni had his hand over Matheesha Pathirana's head but it is also clear that the latter is going to have one heck of a cricketing career. Since he considers Dhoni as a father figure in cricket, if Pathirana's career goes down from now then it will be solely his own fault. 

But that's far from becoming a reality because Pathirana feels the support that MS Dhoni has given to him, is enough to make a successful career. 

"After my father, in my cricket life, he (Dhoni) plays my father's role. He takes care of me, and he gives me advice on what I have to do, similar to my father's thing when I'm at my home. I think that's enough," Pathirana said in a YT video shared by CSK.

Small things but huge impact 

Matheesha Pathirana went on to add that MS Dhoni doesn't tell him a lot of things but whatever he says, even the smallest thing, has a huge impact. That Dhoni's minutest pieces of advice and suggestions might not mean anything to the world but it does Pathirana a world of good, especially to his self-confidence.   

“He doesn't tell me a lot of things when I'm on the field and off the field, but he tells just small things that make a lot of difference and gives me a lot of confidence. He knows how to maintain the players. Off the field, we don't talk much, but if I have to ask something from him, definitely I'd go to him and ask him," Matheesha Pathirana concluded.

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