Pathirana has taken 34 wickets in 20 IPL games while playing for the Super Kings.
For the third SA20 tournament, Matheesha Pathirana, an international player for Sri Lanka, was selected by the Johannesburg Super Kings as a wildcard. The pacer has played for Joburg’s sister club Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has built a name for himself in the shortest format. After playing for CSK for three seasons, where he took 34 wickets, the team decided to contract him for the upcoming season, recognizing his potential, particularly in the dying overs.
Wihaan Lube, Evan Jones, and Doug Bracewell were also signed by Johannesburg recently for the October 1 auction in Cape Town. The next day, Johannesburg declared Pathirana to be their wildcard player. It’s interesting to note that the cricket player received a personalized video package in which he was represented as The Undertaker, a former professional wrestler.
Remarkably, Johannesburg lost to the Durban Super Giants in the second qualifier, despite making the playoffs in the 2024 campaign. The team captained by Faf du Plessis started slowly but gained up speed just in time to advance to the next round. Pathirana’s acquisition was crucial for the team because bowling has been their main weakness in the last two seasons.
Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow, both from England, are also in the team. Ali has contributed significantly to the Super Kings organization over his many years as a member of the starting lineup. Bairstow has a lot to prove in this regard. For the keeper-batter to return to the starting lineup for England in any of the three formats, he must significantly improve. He can accomplish it well on the SA20 2025 platform.
The bowling unit will be led by Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Nandre Burger, and Pathirana. They have a formidable offense, and because Johannesburg has assembled a solid roster on paper, they now stand a decent chance of challenging for the title.
