Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana was a notable omission from the playing XI for their Asia Cup 2025 match against Hong Kong tonight (September 15). In his place, the Islanders have brought in spinner Maheesh Theekshana.
The Lankans will thus go into the contest with just two frontline quicks in Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Thushara.
The reason behind this decision is that the match is being played in Dubai, which have favoured spinners massively as was evident from both the India games and the Pakistan vs Oman match.
Bringing Theekshana in would also make it tough for the Hong Kong batters to read him accurately, posing firther challenge. It’ll also be good preparation for Sri Lanka to try out their combination for the the Super Four stage, as most of the remaining matches are slated to be played in Dubai and the Charith Asalanka-led side is in a good position to qualify.
Furthermore, Matheesha Pathirana had struggled with the ball ever since his action change. It continued in Sri Lanka’s tournament opener against Bangladesh too, where he leaked a massive 42 runs in his four overs and went wicketless.
On the other hand, both Chameera and Thushara had looked in good form in the opener, returning with identical figures of 1/17 in four overs while maintaining a tidy economy rate of 4.25, which meant Pathirana was forced to the sidelines.
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Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (capt), Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara
Hong Kong Playing XI: Zeeshan Ali(w), Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Shahid Wasif, Kinchit Shah, Yasim Murtaza(c), Aizaz Khan, Ayush Shukla, Ehsan Khan, Ateeq Iqbal
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