IPL 2026: Baby Malinga in MI? 3 Teams That Can Trade Matheesha Pathirana – Cricket.com

Matheesha Pathirana has undeniably established himself as one of the most lethal death bowlers in the IPL over the last three years.
The Sri Lankan pacer has impressed everyone with 33 wickets at the death, averaging 18.6, where he nails down yorkers at 145 kmph. With such a specialised and effective skillset, many teams would be eager to acquire his services through the trade window.
Which teams could go heavily for the pacer? 

Who better than the Mumbai Indians to utilise a trade deal to their advantage? 
Since IPL 2023, MI have the third-best average at the death (19.8), but they would want to look towards Pathirana to strengthen their bowling unit in case Jasprit Bumrah is unavailable.

Pathirana’s inclusion could also lift some much-needed burden off Bumrah’s shoulders, as the pacer has spent quite some time away with injuries. With Lasith Malinga as MI’s bowling coach, Pathirana could be the perfect fit there.

Kolkata Knight Riders have historically had a big headache towards the back end of the innings, where they have picked up just 79 wickets (since IPL 2023), the lowest for any bowling unit.

With the new ball, the three-time IPL champions already have Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora. The duo of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine will do the damage during the middle overs, as they need to sort out their death bowling. 
A trade deal for Pathirana makes perfect sense in that case.

Until IPL 2023, the Rajasthan Royals had a beast bowling unit, with almost all bases covered.
However, the IPL 2025 mega auction wasn't the best for the 2008 winners, which is where the trade window could come to their rescue. If they trade their skipper, Sanju Samson, to CSK, they could be eyeing Pathirana in return, which would solve their bowling woes.
Their pacers picked up the second-lowest number of wickets in IPL 2025 (38) and were woeful in the death overs, where they had an economy rate of 12.5 – the worst for any team in IPL 2025.
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