Pathirana Reveals How Injury Altered His Bowling Arm Release Point

Matheesha Pathirana bowled exceptionally well in the last Sri Lanka vs England T20I match that was played in Pallekele. His performance was a positive sign for the Sri Lankan team, as they are confident that Pathirana will play a key role for them in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

Speaking about the bowling plan for the match, Pathirana said that he didn’t have anything specific in mind other than staying accurate. Initially, he was not even going to bowl in the Powerplay, however, the low target set by the team forced him to join the attack early in the innings.

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

The young Sri Lankan pacer then described his bowling practice routine, in which he simply worked hard to master a slightly altered action.

"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. In terms of practice I increased it greatly." said Matheesha Pathirana.

When asked whether his release point had changed after the injury, Pathirana acknowledged that it had been automatically altered but said it is gradually returning to its original position.

"Yes. 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." concluded Matheesha Pathirana