Who Is Eshan Malinga? SRH's Surprise Weapon For IPL 2025 Match vs PBKS

Debashis Sarangi

Eshan Malinga [Source: @SUNRISERSU/X]Eshan Malinga [Source: @SUNRISERSU/X]

In a significant development, Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first in their fifth group-stage match of the ongoing IPL 2025 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. At toss, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer stated that the visitors would like to chase considering the nature of Hyderabad's surface. 

Eshan Malinga Stats

In a surprising move, SRH have brought Eshan Malinga into their playing XI for the IPL 2025 match against PBKS. The 24-year-old is a right-arm fast bowler from Sri Lanka, who is renowned for his exceptional bowling skills. 

He has played 16 T20 matches, scalping 17 wickets at an average of 22.82 and a strike rate of 17.7. His economy of 7.70 suggests how impactful he has been while preventing the flow of runs. 

In the SA20 2025, Malinga scalped four wickets in three innings at an impressive strike rate of 18. He was roped in by SRH for a price of INR 1.20 Crores. 

The Lankan speedster has replaced his national teammate and Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis in SRH playing XI. 

SRH have also made another change to their XI, replacing Jaydev Unadkat with bowling all-rounder Harshal Patel. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings have persisted with their playing XI from the last game. 

SRH vs PBKS Playing XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga

Punjab Kings Playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal