Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana, who is currently playing in the Abu Dhabi T10, expressed his excitement and happiness at being retained by his franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping Rs 13 crore for the upcoming IPL 2025. Pathirana, known for his skills as a specialist death bowler, shared his enthusiasm and gratitude for the trust placed in him by CSK. “Yes, really, I am excited about that, and that was my dream when I debuted for CSK. So yes, I have achieved it, so I am very happy about that,” Pathirana said, reflecting on his retention with the franchise. .
Pathirana joined CSK in 2022, when he played two matches and took two wickets. The following year he had a breakthrough season, playing 12 matches and claiming 19 wickets. In 2024, he continued his impressive form, taking 13 wickets in six matches. In total, Pathirana has played 20 matches for CSK, taking 34 wickets with an economy rate of 7.88 and a best bowling figure of 4/28.
Despite CSK's strong performance, the team narrowly missed their play-off chances in 2024, finishing fifth under new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Pathirana also expressed his delight at the prospect of sharing the dressing room with CSK captain MS Dhoni again. The young bowler highlighted the unique experience of playing alongside the legendary cricketer.
“Everyone knows what it's going to be like, so you don't have to say that again. It's really cool and fun,” he noted.
CSK's strategy will likely focus on combining seasoned players with new talent, while maintaining the balance that has driven their previous successes. Besides Dhoni, their retained players include Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Matheesha Pathirana.
The IPL 2025 Mega Auction promises to offer high-stakes action, with big players and strategic maneuvers that will captivate cricket fans.
Of the 574 players, 366 are Indian while 208 live abroad, including three from associated countries. The auction will see 318 uncapped Indian players and 12 uncapped overseas players competing. There are 204 slots available, of which 70 are reserved for foreign players.
The highest reserve price has been set at INR 2 crore with 81 players opting for this category. The largest segment consists of players with a base price of INR 30 lakh, 320 in total.
Notable names include Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, part of the big 12 players. These three captains were released by their respective franchises before the retention deadline. For the first time since 2018, the big players have been divided into two sets, comprising seven Indian players and five foreign stars.
The first set consists of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh, while the second consists of KL Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. The big players overseas are Mitchell Starc, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, David Miller and Kagiso Rabada.
Several teams will use Right-to-Match (RTM) cards during the auction. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), who have retained six players each (the maximum allowed), will not have RTM cards. Punjab Kings (PBKS) has four RTMs, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) three and Delhi Capitals (DC) two. Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Gujarat Titans (GT), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) have one RTM each.
RTM cards allow teams to buy back released players by matching the highest bid. In this auction, the team with the highest bid can increase its bid one more time, after which the team with the RTM card can match the last bid to secure the player.
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