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          My father, my mentor - Pathirana on his love for Dhoni

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          • ESPNcricinfo staff
          Apr 4, 2025, 04:05 AM ET

          Matheesha Pathirana has been a part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since being signed up as Adam Milne's replacement during IPL 2022. One of the players the team retained ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Pathirana has been completely at home at CSK, and owes much of that to MS Dhoni, "my cricketing father".

          In a documentary released by CSK, Pathirana's mother expresses her gratitude to Dhoni, CSK's mascot since the inception of the IPL in 2008, saying, "No words about Dhoni. Really [like] god. Matheesha, how he respects [his] father, like that [he shows] respect to Dhoni."

          It isn't an exaggeration. Dhoni, to the Pathirana family, has been the father figure the young man from Kandy needed when he became a part of the high-profile league in a country he didn't know about in 2022.

          "Dhoni is like my father, because of the support and the mentorship and the guidance he is giving me when I'm in CSK," Pathirana said. "It's very similar to what my father did in my home. That's why I consider Dhoni my cricketing father."

          Pathirana, who has started IPL 2025 with two-wicket hauls in both his appearances so far, recalled the time he met Dhoni for the first time, and Dhoni turned to him and said, "Hi, Mali. How are you?" The "Mali" comes from Pathirana's cricketing nickname - "Baby Malinga" - since he had modelled his bowling action on Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga.

          "It [Mali] is very familiar to me, because when we are in Sri Lanka, Mali means the younger brother," Pathirana said. "So that kind of legend calls me 'Mali', wow, this is so good. That's so good."