2. Matheesha Pathirana

The rising slingy-action pacer Matheesha Pathirana had a sensational season for the IPL 2023 Champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). During his stint with the MS Dhoni-led side, the ‘Baby Malinga’ wreaked havoc with his sheer pace and impeccable accuracy. As a result, he led CSK’s bowling to new heights thereby helping the side in clinching yet another IPL title.
Notably, Dhoni has been backing the pacer to become the death-over phenom for his side. Furthermore, MS Dhoni believes that the youngster is a good asset for Sri Lanka Cricket and will serve them for a long time for the good. Meanwhile, speaking of his Asia Cup 2023 exploits after finally making his debut for Sri Lanka, the pacer ran through the Bangladesh batting line-up to hand the hosts a dominating win.
At this juncture of the tournament, Pathirana is the sixth-highest wicket-taker with 5 scalps from two appearances in the ongoing Asia Cup. Moreover, the slingy bowler averages 19 with a decent strike rate of 21.20. During his stint so far in the marquee event, Matheesha Pathirana has maintained a commendable economy of 5.37. Now it will be interesting to see how he will fare against the top Asian teams in the Super Four round of the Asia Cup 2023.