Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana narrated the story behind his remodelled bowling action and how working with Lasith Malinga and other coaches has helped him get back on track.
Since his debut, Pathirana has battled multiple injuries. A shoulder injury last year forced a slight change in his bowling action, which did not produce results during last year’s IPL. A poor run of form, coupled with injury concerns, kept Pathirana far from his best. However, against England in the first T20I, he bowled one of his most complete spells, returning figures of 1/18 in four overs.
The presence of his bowling idol, Malinga, in the dressing room has been helping Pathirana.
“Over the last year, year-and-a-half, along with my injuries, it was a challenging period,” he said. “I lost my rhythm. I’ve worked very hard to get back to this level. More recently, Mali aiya [Lasith Malinga] was here in Sri Lanka helping out, as well as all the coaches at SLC — not just one, all of them helped me get here.”
When asked if his release point had changed, Pathirana said: “Yes. In the recent past, I was playing with a fairly major shoulder injury, so I think my body just automatically changed the release point. Even now, I am doing rehab in between matches, and I think that’s why I’m seeing an improvement. You can see that the release point is getting back to what it used to be.”
Pathirana has an impressive T20I record, with 34 wickets in 23 matches. The right-arm slinging pacer will be seen in action at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, February 1.
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