Overview
Heenatigala Pathiranage Matheesha Anushal Vihanga Pathirana, popularly known as Matheesha Pathirana, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer born on 18 December 2002. He represents the Sri Lankan national team in limited-overs internationals and is a right-arm fast bowler.
Pathirana is widely referred to as "Baby Malinga", having modelled his slingy, low-arm bowling action on that of former Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga. His distinctive action and pace have shaped his identity in the shorter formats of the game.
Before his senior Twenty20 debut, Pathirana was part of Sri Lanka's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In January 2022, he was named in the Sri Lankan side for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in the West Indies, further establishing his standing in age-group cricket.
At franchise level, Pathirana has been associated with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. He was a key member of the Chennai Super Kings squad that won the IPL title in 2023, picking up 19 wickets during that edition of the tournament. With this success, he became the youngest overseas player to win an IPL trophy.