IPL 2025: Why didn’t Matheesha Pathirana play in Sunday’s match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings?

Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings kicked off a successful IPL 2025 campaign with a four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians. However, the 22-year-old Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Matheesha Pathirana was not a part of the team and fans wondered why. Initially brought in as a substitute during IPL 2022, Pathirana emerged as one of CSK's retained players before the IPL mega-auction, thanks to his skill in handling death overs. Since then, the bowler has taken 34 wickets at an average of 17.41 and an economy rate of 7.88 in the limited opportunities he has received.

Why was Matheesha Pathirana not in CSK playing XI against Mumbai Indians?

After being sidelined midway through last year's tournament due to a hamstring injury, the franchise maintained their trust in Pathirana and he was anticipated to be part of the playing XI for CSK's opening match of IPL 2025 against their fierce rivals, Mumbai, at Chepauk on Sunday, March 23. However, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad surprised everyone by opting to bowl first and not including Pathirana in either the playing XI or the list of five Impact Player options. Instead, Gaikwad announced that the home team would utilize Australian fast bowler Nathan Ellis.

Gaikwad won the toss and chose to bowl first for the match, remarking that the pitch in Chennai appeared to be "spicy" and emphasized their desire to quickly adapt to the conditions. He said, "We are going to bowl first. It looks good, to be honest. We are playing for the first time. Don't really know how it will play. It looks a bit spicy, but every time the wicket plays differently here. You don't know how it will play. So, it will be about adapting to the conditions quickly."

Gaikwad also commented on the preparation, saying, "The preparation has been good. Everyone has been a part of the camp from the first day. We have a number of talented young players coming into the side. We also have our young wicket-keeper coming back as well. We also had a good auction."

Further, Ruturaj Gaikwad listed the four overseas players in CSK’s playing XI, which included Noor Ahmad, Rachin Ravindra, Sam Curran, and Nathan Ellis while surprisingly omitting Matheesha Pathirana from the team, leading to astonishment. He mentioned, “It's always good to be back in yellow. I have been playing here for a long time, and I'm enjoying it. We have three medium-pacers to go with three spinners. Our four overseas players are Noor, Ellis, Rachin Ravindra, and Sam Curran.”

Regarding Matheesha Pathirana’s absence in today’s IPL 2025 match, it was disclosed that he is not playing against the Mumbai Indians due to a minor niggle he sustained just before this high-profile Indian Premier League clash. This information was shared by former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra while he was conversing with Robin Uthappa about Pathirana's absence from the playing XI. Interestingly, Robin suggested that CSK may have chosen to rest Matheesha Pathirana considering his recent form.