Chennai Super Kings in action during IPL 2025© BCCI
Sri Lanka cricket team fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana was ruled out of the highly-anticipated IPL 2025 encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said in the pre-match press conference on Thursday that the youngster is still recovering from injury and is unlikely to take part in the match. He previously missed CSK’s season opener against Mumbai Indians. “He is recovering,” said Fleming in the press conference. Pathirana impressed everyone with his bowling during IPL 2024 but his season was cut short by a hamstring injury. However, he was retained by CSK for Rs 13 crore.
As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) prepare to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday in Chennai, head coach Stephen Fleming emphasized the evenly matched nature of this year’s competition. Speaking ahead of the contest, Fleming downplayed past performances and acknowledged the changes both teams have undergone since last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Things change quite quickly. The RCB from last year, the CSK from last year are quite different. We don’t look at all into past performances. Certainly looking at their team, Kohli is a big part of it, but they’ve got other strengths as well. The competition is really even this year,” Fleming stated, according to CSK website.
With playing conditions always a factor in any game, the CSK head coach admitted that adaptability will be key as the team navigates different pitches throughout the tournament.
“It’s difficult, we don’t have much influence on what comes up. Each pitch has a different characteristic so we’ll work really hard to work out what’ll work and what we have and try to get us pretty well equipped for all conditions, because that’s been the key here,” he explained.
(With ANI inputs)
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