Matheesha Pathirana And... - Who Will Be CSK's Death Over Specialists In IPL 2025?

Probuddha Bhattacharjee∙ Updated: Dec 2 2024, 6:48 PM

Matheesh Pathirana and Sam Curran for CSK [Source: @Hitmania264, @HustlerCSK/x.com]Matheesh Pathirana and Sam Curran for CSK [Source: @Hitmania264, @HustlerCSK/x.com]

The Indian Premier League 2025 has created a buzz with its mega auction and seems to stay in the discussion of cricket fans. During the two-day auction, all the teams tried to get their best combination. While some teams walked out content with their recruitments, some left scope to do better.

Your death bowling combination is one of the most important things to get right while building a successful T20 team. All the franchises must have planned for this and would have taken special care to get proper bowlers in the death overs. In this article, we will look at the death-over combination of the five-time IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings.

Before moving on, let us look at the CSK squad for the IPL 2025.

Batters - Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shaik Rasheed, C Andre Siddharth, Rahul Tripathi, Devon Conway, MS Dhoni, Vansh Bedi
All-rounders- Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj, Rachin Ravindra, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Curran.
Bowlers - Matheesha Pathirana, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Gurjapneet Singh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed. 

The Probable Bowling Combination

As long as Matheesha Pathirana is fit, he will be a part of the playing 12. Along with Pathirana, CSK might start the tournament with Sam Curran and Khaleel Ahmed as their main pacers. Anshul Kamboj is a bowler who might also get a chance to play.

Who Will Open The Bowling For CSK In IPL 2025?

It is expected that Sam Curran will be given the new ball along with Khaleel Ahmed or Anshul Kamboj, whoever plays. Gaikwad might look to use a couple of overs of Sam Curran in the power play while about three overs of either Kamboj or Ahmed in the first six. With Ravichandran Ashwin back in the combination, CSK might look to use an over of the experienced spinner in the powerplay.

Who Will Bowl In The Death Overs For CSK In IPL 2025?

Players
Overs
Wickets
Economy
Matheesha Pathirana91478.49
Sam Curran173.3779.83
Khaleel Ahmed69.33610.46
Anshul Kamboj3
48.33

Matheesha Pathirana will be their death-over specialist, and his spell is not expected to start before the eighth or ninth over of the innings. He will get two overs in the middle phase and two in the final four overs of an innings. Pathirana’s wicket-taking abilities in the death make him their best bet during that time.

Along with Patirana, Sam Curran is expected to bowl a couple in the last five. With his variations, Curran could be a very effective option for CSK, especially at Chepauk. Besides Curran, CSK will have the option of Khaleel Ahmed, who was seen bowling the death over in the last edition for the Delhi Capitals. Anshul Kamboj’s sample size is small; however, his numbers look decent. So, even if he plays, he might get an over in the last five. On days, CSK might do the opposite and use Curran for a single over in the death, while Ahmed or Kamboj gets two overs alongside Pathirana’s two overs.