"I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga" - Scott Styris makes a 'massive' claim about Chennai Super Kings pacer

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has backed Matheesha Pathirana to be even better than the great Lasith Malinga in the future. The cricketer-turned-commentator also observed that Malinga was in top form for only 3-4 years during his career.

Pathirana, plying his trade for the Chennai Super Kings, has delivered some promising performances throughout the tournament. With a bowling action similar to Malinga's, the 20-year-old has plucked seven scalps in six matches at 27.57 and an economy rate of 8.27. The right-arm pacer has bowled especially well at the death.

Speaking on Jio Cinema, Styris admitted his prediction was a "massive call." He also pointed out that Malinga was a lot easier to face once he lost his pace. The Kiwi said:

"I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it's a massive call because he's too early in his career. He's not as accurate as Malinga yet, but Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph. And he only had about three or four years where that was the case. When he had that speed, and then the change-ups came, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed was down to 135, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the yorkers."

Malinga was one of the most lethal bowlers in limited-overs cricket and had a nearly unplayable yorker. The Sri Lankan is also the only bowler to take four wickets in four balls in ODIs and T20Is.

"He hits the yorkers pretty well" - Scott Styris on Matheesha Pathirana

Scott Styris. (Image Credits: Getty)

Styris further observed that speed comes naturally to Pathirana and expects the youngster to execute his yorkers even better with experience. He said:

"What we've seen with Pathirana is that he's bowling at 145, 146, 148kph, so he has that natural advantage. He hits the yorkers pretty well. As he naturally evolves and gets more experience, he can hit those yorkers with that action as much as Malinga, but with a quicker speed and the ability for change-ups. He's the exciting talent for Sri Lanka, and exciting talent for CSK."

As far as the Super Kings are concerned, they suffered consecutive losses before their game against the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday, which resulted in a washout.