Matheesha Pathirana elaborated on the influence of MS Dhoni on his cricketing career thus far.

MS Dhoni's cricketing skills are globally recognized, but equally impressive is his ability to nurture young talent. Since assuming the Indian captaincy in 2007, Dhoni has been instrumental in developing a strong group of Indian cricketers, guiding players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to become batting stars, along with many others. This talent development extends seamlessly to the IPL; under Dhoni's insightful leadership, Chennai Super Kings have won a record 5 titles, witnessing the evolution of promising talents such as Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja into top-notch cricketers.

Matheesha Pathirana is a key player in Sri Lanka's limited-overs team, but it was MS Dhoni who first noticed his talent. Pathirana made his mark in the cricketing world in 2022, representing CSK.

“After my father, in my cricket life, he (Dhoni) plays my father's role. He takes care of me, and he gives me advice on what I have to do, similar to my father's thing when I'm at my home. I think that's enough,” said Pathirana.

“He doesn't tell me a lot of things when I'm on the field and off the field, but he tells just small things that make a lot of difference and gives me a lot of confidence. He knows how to maintain the players. Off the field, we don't talk much, but if I have to ask something from him, definitely I'd go to him and ask him,” Pathirana said further.