Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has said that Chennai Super Kings pacer Matheesha Pathirana could be better than legendary Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga. Pathirana has been impressive for CSK this season, picking up seven wickets in six matches.
Speaking on JioCinema, Styris said the 20-year-old CSK fast-bowler could turn out to be better than Malinga. Pathirana has bowled at an average of 27.57 and an economy of 8.27 this season, while regularly bowling the death overs for CSK.“I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it’s a massive call because he’s too early in his career,” said Styris.
The New Zealander went on to say that Pathirana is not as accurate as Malinga but has the raw pace that can trouble batters, adding that even Malinga was at his best when he bowled at 145kph. Malinga is considered one of the best bowlers to ever feature in the IPL, picking up 170 wickets in 122 matches.“He’s not as accurate as Malinga yet, but Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph. And he only had about three or four years where that was the case. When he had that speed, and then the change-ups came, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed was down to 135, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the Yorkers,” Styris added.
Styris said Pathirana is an excellent for both Sri Lanka and CSK, adding that he has the natural advantage of having pace to burn. The Sri Lankan pacer has touched the 150kph mark several times this season with his Malinga-esque slinging action.
“What we’ve seen with Pathirana is that he’s bowling at 145, 146, 148kph, so he has that natural advantage. He hits the yorkers pretty well. As he naturally evolves and gets more experience, he can hit those yorkers with that action as much as Malinga, but with a quicker speed and the ability for change-ups. He’s the exciting talent for Sri Lanka, and exciting talent for CSK,” said Styris.CSK are set to lock horns with five-time champions Mumbai Indians in a heavyweight IPL 2023 clash at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on May 6. (India Today)