CSK bowling coach Eric Simons addressed Matheesha Pathirana’s change in action which led to the Sri Lanka international producing lacklustre performances in the ongoing IPL 2025. He has clinched nine wickets in eight matches so far.
Matheesha Pathirana was retained for INR 13 crore by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. He was the only bowler that was retained by the franchise but the Sri Lanka international has failed to live up to his expectations. Previously, Pathirana was highly impactful, particularly in the death overs, but in 2025, he has clinched only nine wickets in eight matches. After their defeat to Punjab Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium, CSK bowling coach Eric Simons addressed that a change in action might have hampered Pathirana’s consistency.
Earlier, head coach Stephen Fleming analysed the same and indirectly blamed Sri Lanka cricket for Pathirana’s change in action. Meanwhile, Simons now added that Pathirana may not be flawed but the batters are playing him better. He explained that in the match against Mumbai Indians, the Hardik Pandya-led side had a better idea of what Pathirana’s plans are and due to which, he expects the cricketer to evolve, to produce better performances.
“I think it’s been pretty well documented that there was a bit of [an] action change. But I think he’s pretty much back to where he was, just in terms of the height of his arm on a reasonably consistent basis,” Simons said.
“I’m not sure that he is less accurate. I think batsmen are playing him a lot better. We can certainly see a trend the way batsmen are playing against him. Particularly against Mumbai the other day, the technique they are using, they understand what his plans are [and] what he does. So the evolution might just be: what’s next for him? Tactically, what he needs to do to keep evolving. Batsmen need to keep evolving. Bowlers need to keep evolving,” he added.
After a defeat to PBKS, Chennai are officially out of the playoffs race. They have four points in 10 matches and this will be for the first time when the MS Dhoni-led side failed to qualify for the playoffs in consecutive years.