The Chennai Super Kings are having a good season in the 2023 Indian Premier League. They are currently in the top-4 with four of its games remaining so far as well. The Super Kings are one of the favourites to lift the trophy this year and have seen multiple players doing well for the side in different games – one of them being Sri Lanka’s emerging star Matheesha Pathirana. His bowling action draws a resemblance with one of Sri Lanka’s legendary bowlers Lasith Malinga, who joined the CSK last year and has become one of the key players in the playing XI this season as well. And former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has said Pathirana can actually be better than Malinga, explaining that his ability to bowl at quicker speeds can benefit him in future.

Speaking on JioCinema, Scott Styris stated Malinga’s peak as a bowler lasted only for 3-4 years, adding that his pace started to decline following that, which made it relatively easier for batters to play his yorkers.

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“I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it’s a massive call because he’s too early in his career. 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 3 or 4 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 said.

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“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,” Scott Styris further added.