“I am forever grateful to Dhoni bhai” - Matheesha Pathirana bids adieu to CSK as KKR buys him for INR 18 Crore

Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana took to his official Instagram handle to write an emotional note to Chennai Super Kings and their fans with a special mention for MS Dhoni after being roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping amount of INR 18 Crore.

It’s important to note that Matheesha Pathirana was roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2022, and he was with the franchise until the IPL 2025 season. In IPL, he played a total of 32 matches and claimed 47 wickets at an average of 21.16. 

"From a boy with a dream to wearing yellow with pride. CSK gave me more than just cricket it gave me belief, confidence, and a family I will always cherish. From 2022 till the end of 2025, every moment in yellow shaped me as a cricketer and as a person. I always wanted to finish my last season with CSK on a special note, to give my best till the end and reach 50 wickets for this incredible franchise. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make that happen, but the dream and the effort were always from the heart," Pathirana wrote on his Instagram handle.

"I am forever grateful to Dhoni bhai for the guidance and trust, Kasi sir and the management for believing in me, my teammates for standing by me like brothers, and every loyal CSK fan who supported me through every high and low. Your love meant everything to me," said Pathirana.

"Chennai will always have a special place in my heart. Chennai will always feel like home, and yellow will always have a special place in my heart. With respect, gratitude, and pride, I now turn the page and begin a new chapter with KKR. Thank you CSK. Thank you Chennai. Forever grateful," he concluded.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSU0FrRkXm9/ 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell*, Sunil Narine*, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green*, Matheesha Pathirana*, Mustafizur Rahman*, Tejasvi Singh, Rachin Ravindra*, Finn Allen*, Tim Seifert*, Akash Deep, Rahul Tripathi, Daksh Kamra, Sarthak Ranjan, Prashant Solanki, Kartik Tyagi.

*indicates overseas players.

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