Colombo Strikers purchased Matheesha Pathirana in the LPL 2024 auction
2024.05.21
Matheesha Pathirana earns five times his IPL wage, making him the most expensive player in the history of the LPL auction.
When youthful speedster Matheesha Pathirana of Sri Lanka went for an incredible USD 120,000 at the LPL 2024 auction on May 21, he broke the record for the most expensive player in the history of the Lanka Premier League (IPL).
Pathirana most recently competed for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. But a hamstring injury forced him to leave after only six games. He amassed 13 wickets at an outstanding economy rate of 7.68.
Pathirana’s injuries and absence from the IPL 2024 season were major factors in Chennai’s group-stage loss. Finishing fifth in the points tally, the reigning champions were unable to retain their championship.
At the LPL auction, Matheesha Pathirana brought in over five times his IPL price.
For a fee of Rs 20 lakhs, CSK first signed the 21-year-old Sri Lankan bowler to replace the injured Adam Milne in the IPL 2022 season. The right-arm seamer later contributed significantly to CSK’s victory in the IPL 2023, winning the trophy.
Pathirana entered the auction with a USD 50,000 base price, and Dambulla Thunders started the bidding at USD 70,000 in the most recent LPL auction.
Galle Marvels immediately led the bidding to $100,000 USD. Galle even raised their own bid to USD 120,000 (about Rs 99 lakhs) in an attempt to stop the Colombo Strikers keeping the player, but their efforts were in fruitless because the player was eventually signed by the Colombo Strikers using a Right to Match (RTM) card. This implies that Pathirana’s LPL salary will be five times that of his IPL salary.
Assuming he recovers from his hamstring injury in time, the action-packed fast bowler from Sri Lanka will play in the next T20 World Cup in 2024. The United States and the West Indies will share hosting duties for the main event in June.
@charith
