CSK's ₹13 crore retention joins camp ahead of IPL 2025; franchise welcomes him with special video [Watch]

Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana has joined the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, set to begin on March 22. The opening match will see the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Kolkata.

Pathirana joined CSK during the 2022 season, where he took two wickets in as many matches. He had a standout campaign in 2023, claiming 19 wickets in 12 games.

However, in the 2024 season, he played only six matches and took 13 wickets before his campaign was cut short due to a hamstring injury. The 22-year-old was subsequently retained for INR 13 crore ahead of the 2025 mega auction.

With the 2025 season fast approaching, the Sri Lanka pacer has rejoined the CSK camp. The franchise's official X account shared a video to welcome him and captioned the post:

“Thunderbolts and Timber!! Brace yourself for Matheesha Pathirana!”

The pacer has appeared in 20 matches for the Super Kings, claiming 34 wickets, with his best performance being 4-28.

---

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) full squad for the IPL 2025 season

Ahead of the 2025 mega auction, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the five-time IPL champions, held on to their key players: Ruturaj Gaikwad (₹18 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (₹18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (₹13 crore), Shivam Dube (₹12 crore), and MS Dhoni (₹4 crore). They also brought in several prominent names during the auction.

Here’s the full squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Shaik Rasheed, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, and Andre Siddarth.

CSK will kick off their campaign on March 23 against fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.