Sri Lankan speedstar Matheesha Pathirana was yesterday named in the Wisden Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 XI after his outstanding performances for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) following the conclusion of the richest franchise T20 Cricket Tournament of the world.

The 20-year-old right-arm fast bowler with a unique slinging action, was part of the champion CSK Team that edged out Gujarat Titans by five wickets on the Duckworth and Lewis scoring method in the final played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Pathirana, of course, did not have his best outing in the final as he conceded 44 runs for his two wickets from four overs as Gujarat amassed a massive 214 for four in the rain-hit final, which was stretched into the reserve day due to bad weather.

However, Pathirana had the satisfaction of finishing with a tally of 19 wickets from 12 games at an average of 19.52 and more importantly his economy rate was a superb 8.00.

Pathirana earned a reputation as the best death bowler and certainly the find of the 2023 IPL season with his terrific yorker length deliveries that mesmerised many top international stars throughout this tournament.

Pathirana’s best effort this season came when he finished with brilliant figures of 4-0-15-3 and didn’t concede a single boundary in the spell as he went on to clinch the Player-of-the-Match Award and the Game Changer Award.

He took his second three-wicket haul of the tournament a few days later when he rocked Delhi Capitals with a sensational burst of three wickets for 37 at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai.