Matheesha Pathirana called in as a replacement for Adam Milne

Chennai Super Kings have suffered another setback on the injury front. After Deepak Chahar was ruled out of the tournament, another seamer Adam Milne will not be available for the remainder of the matches due to injury concerns.

The pacer from Sri Lanka, Matheesha Pathirana, has been named as a replacement for the Kiwi fast bowler, who sustained an injury during the tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He could deliver only 2.3 overs and gave away 19 runs.

The new signing, Pathirana had hogged the limelight in the 2020 U19 World Cup, where he delivered a searing delivery to the Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal at a record speed of 175 Kmph. In the 2021 season, he was added to the CSK squad as a reserve player.

In the 2022 U19 World Cup, Pathirana scalped 7 wickets in four matches, while he successfully picked 6 wickets in five fixtures in the 2021 U19 Asia Cup.

Currently, CSK is in dire need of a quality pacer who can consistently take wickets, as they have struggled in this department of the game. Although the batters have done well to post a substantial total on the board, the bowlers have been a major let-down for the team.

The experienced campaigners like Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja have been ordinary with their performances. They have lacked the potency to put a brake on runs and maintain pressure on the opposition.

Ahead of their seventh fixture against Mumbai Indians (MI) on 21 April, CSK have registered only one victory in six appearances.