A big drama is going on in the world of cricket! Sri Lanka’s legendary bowler Lasith Malinga has openly rebelled against MS Dhoni.
Malinga wants young star Mathisha Pathirana to play Test cricket, while Dhoni says that he should stay away from the red ball. The clash of these two giants is exciting the fans.
What is the whole matter?
Pathirana, who looks like Malinga with his slinging action, is playing only limited overs cricket so far. He has made a splash for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
He won the title for the team by taking 10 wickets in the 2023 IPL, and now CSK retained him for 13 crores before the 2025 auction.
Amazing in international too, 17 wickets in 12 ODIs, 30 wickets in 19 T20s. But he has not yet made his Test debut.
Malinga created a ruckus with a post on Facebook
He wrote: “I still believe Matheesha Pathirana should play 5 to 10 test matches for Sri Lanka in the coming days. If that happens he will be able to perform at his best for the country.”
Malinga says that playing Tests will strengthen Pathirana’s skills, and he will play a big role for Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, Dhoni says exactly the opposite. In IPL 2023, he said,
“I feel he should not play red-ball cricket, not even get close to it, he can play ICC tournaments in ODIs and as much as possible reduce the other matches that he is playing, because he’s not someone who will change a lot.”
Dhoni further added: “He will be like this. So you can always use him at crucial times. But make sure that he’s fit and available for all the ICC tournaments and he’ll be a great asset for Sri Lanka.”
Dhoni wants Pathirana to focus only on T20 and ICC events, keep the workload low so that he stays fit. But Malinga is not ready to accept this.
Pathirana’s journey is also inspiring. Made international debut in Asia Cup in August 2022, although the first match did not go well, conceded 16 runs in one over. ODI debut against Afghanistan in June 2023, got one wicket.
Shone in domestic and franchise leagues too, showed good performance in SA20 and LPL apart from IPL.
