India, Nov. 18 -- For two seasons, Matheesha Pathirana felt like CSK's cheat code at the death - a sling-armed yorker specialist who helped seal the 2023 title and give Chennai a Malinga-style presence in the end overs. One year after retaining him for INR 13 cr, the same franchise has released him ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

On talent, it looks like a blunder; on price and recent output, it feels like a reset. Whether it's a mistake depends on how you weigh those two halves.

Matheesha Pathirana has 47 wickets in 32 IPL matches at an average of 21.61 and an economy of 8.68, most of them in high-pressure overs - genuinely top tier for a specialist quick. At the death alone, he has more than 30 wickets, and since 2023, no bowler has mo...