Pathirana: 'My body just automatically changed the release point' after injury

If there was one positive from Sri Lanka's defeat to England in the first T20I, it was how well their bowlers kept England's batters in check on a batter-friendly surface. Particularly Matheesha Pathirana.

Pathirana, the 23-year-old slinger, returned figures of 1 for 18 across his four overs - and it might have been two had Pathum Nissanka not grassed a chance in the deep - but his impact was immense, as evident in ESPNcricinfo's MVP index, where he was only behind Adil Rashid, whose 3 for 19 ripped through Sri Lanka's batting.

The target of 134 off 17 overs (later revised to 115 in 15) proved too low to defend, but the margin of defeat - 11-runs via DLS - was not as wide as it might have been given the nature of the pitch.

On a good batting surface, seamers in particular suffered - Sam Curran and Eshan Malinga went at around 12 an over, while Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton both went at over seven. But Pathirana ticked along at an economy rate of 4.5.

He did so bowling his entire repertoire, from quick yorkers - he was hovering in the mid-140s, with his quickest delivery clocking 148kph - to pace-off length deliveries and spicy short ones. Even more impressive was the fact that he bowled two of his overs inside the powerplay. Pathirana is renowned for his death-overs exploits, but here, with a sub-par total to defend, Sri Lanka called on their strike bowler to take the new ball.

"Even though I've practiced to bowl in the powerplay, there was no plan as such for me to bowl there today," Pathirana said after the game. "It just so happened that our score was lower than we wanted, so it was decided that I would bowl in the powerplay."

Pathirana's control was impressive. Wides have been an issue in the past - a common trade-off for a slingy action such as his - but on Friday night, there were just three across his spell.

"Honestly I didn't do anything major, just simple, basic things. The main thing was increasing the number of repetitions in practice. If there is any improvement, that's the reason"Matheesha Pathirana

"Over the last year, year-and-a-half, along with my injuries, it was a challenging period," he said. "I lost my rhythm. I've worked very hard to get back to this level. And then more recently Mali aiya [Lasith Malinga] was here in Sri Lanka helping out, as well all the coaches at SLC - not just one - all of them helped me get here."

The impact of fellow slinger Malinga cannot be understated. Malinga has long been a proponent of target-based training drills, and hours of repetitive practice. And most recently he has been working as Sri Lanka's fast-bowling coach in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

"Honestly I didn't do anything major, just simple, basic things," Pathirana said. "The main thing was increasing the number of repetitions in practice. If there is any improvement, that's the reason. In terms of practice I increased it greatly."

It's a sharp turn in fortunes for Pathirana, who had only played two T20Is for Sri Lanka in 2025 - owing to a combination of poor form and injuries - and had been released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) following IPl 2025. He had since been picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but that was more of an educated punt than anything based on tangible data.

Among the criticisms levied at Pathirana during this period was that his release point was not as low as it used to be. Stephen Fleming, the CSK coach, in fact pointed out this very fact when talking about the quick bowler's decline in IPL 2025.

On Friday, Pathirana's release point was lower than in recent times but still not as low as during his breakout season. He explained that his change in action had largely been involuntary, and down to a fairly serious shoulder injury he had been nursing.

"Yes," he responded when asked if his release point had changed. "In the recent past, I was playing with a fairly major shoulder injury. So I think my body just automatically changed the release point. Even now I am doing rehab in between matches, and I think that's why I'm seeing an improvement, and so you can see that the release point is getting to what it used to be."

A fit and firing Pathirana is crucial for Sri Lanka, and with Dushmantha Chameera waiting in the wings, as well as Eshan Malinga ticking along well - he picked up two wickets on Friday with clever variations - Sri Lanka's seam contingent at least looks in rude health heading into the World Cup.