MS Dhoni Gives Big Advise To Sri Lanka Cricket On How To Treat 'Special Player' Matheesha Pathirana

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Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni is a man of few words and the two-time World Cup-winning captain hardly praises cricketers. Rare are the instances when the former India captain praises a fellow cricketer.

The legendary India cricketer and captain spoke highly of rookie Sri Lanka pace sensation Matheesha Pathirana. Pathirana - who is playing for CSK since IPL 2022 - has left everyone impressed with his unorthodox action, as well as, his pace and accuracy.

The 21-year-old right-arm speedster - who has been bowling tightly for CSK and bowling mostly in the death overs - picked up three wickets against Mumbai Indians and helped his team restrict the visitors to a paltry 139/8 in 20 overs.

The young slinger from Sri Lanka returned with impressive figures of 3/15 and bowled 12 dot balls. Pathirana also bowled miserly at an economy of 3.80 and was awarded the player of the match for his bowling effort. Who is Matheesha Pathirana? IPL Price, Bowling Speed, Stats -- All You Need To Know About 'Junior Malinga'

When asked about his opinion on the youngster from Sri Lanka, Dhoni - who brought included Jasprit Bumrah early in the Indian said to leverage his unique bowling action - claimed bowlers who do not have clean bowling action, are always difficult to pick.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhoni said, "People who don't have very clean (conventional) action, batsmen have a difficult time picking it and when trying to go after the bowler. But his consistency, variation, pace makes him special."

The four-time IPL winning captain further claimed that a player like Pathirana should ideally be playing just white-ball format and suggested the board shouldn't exhaust him by playing him in Test cricket. IPL 2023: Kris Srikkanth marvels at 'second Malinga' and CSK pacer Matheesha Pathirana

Dhoni, however, claimed that the youngster should play ODI games only during the ICC tournaments. "What's important is to keep an eye on how much cricket he is playing. I feel he should not play red-ball cricket, not even get close to it, even play only ICC tournaments with ODIs and keep the rest as less as possible, because he's not someone who'll change a lot.

"This is what he'll do. So you can always use him at crucial times. But make sure he's fit and available for all the ICC tournaments and he'll be a great asset for Sri Lanka. Not to forget, he's a really young boy."

The 41-year-old cricketer also lauded the youngster for working on his fitness. Dhoni said, "Last time he came, he was very lean but has put on muscle and is stronger. I feel he'll serve for a long time in Sri Lankan cricket but he'll have to keep an eye on how much he bowls."