Describing the kind of admiration that Matheesha Pathirana had in his eyes when he expressed his gratitude to MS Dhoni is quite difficult.
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 details. This is the warmest and most heartwarming message a Sri Lankan could have ever given to Dhoni.
Matheesha Pathirana expresses his gratitude to MS Dhoni
Just yesterday, CSK’s Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman wrote a few words of thanks for MS Dhoni in his farewell post for IPL 2024. And just a few hours later, Chennai Super KingsThe YouTube channel uploaded Matheesha Pathirana’s message for the five-time IPL winner.
In a 7-minute video, Matheesha Pathirana spoke in detail about his trip to the USA Indian Premier League and how he felt working with the CSK camp. In one of the posts, the 21-year-old, nicknamed ‘Baby Malinga’, told us how important MS Dhoni was to his career.
Pathirana joined cricket’s richest league as a reserve bowler in 2022 at just 19 years of age. At 20, he has 34 IPL wickets from just 20 games, but most importantly, he has an Indian Premier League trophy to show for it. All this 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 he has one hell of a career ahead of him as a cricketer. Since he sees Dhoni as a father figure in cricket, it will only be his own fault if Pathirana’s career fails from now on.
But that is far from the case as Pathirana feels that the support MS Dhoni has given him is enough to make a successful career.
“After my father, he (Dhoni) plays the role of my father in my cricketing life. He takes care of me and gives me advice on what I need to do, similar to how my father does when I am at home. “I think that’s enough,” Pathirana said in a YT video shared by CSK.
Small things, but big impact
Matheesha Pathirana added that MS Dhoni doesn’t tell him much but whatever he says, even the smallest things, has a big impact. That Dhoni’s smallest advice and suggestions may mean nothing in the world, but they do a lot of good for Pathirana, especially his self-confidence.
“He doesn’t tell me much when I’m on the field and off the field, but he just tells me little things that make a big difference and give me a lot of confidence. “He knows how to keep the players. We don’t talk much off the field, but if I had to ask him for something, I would definitely go to him and ask him,” concluded Matheesha Pathirana.