Mustafizur Rahman or Matheesha Pathirana - who should play for CSK in IPL 2024 clash vs GT

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had an impressive start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 campaign as they prevailed over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six wickets on Friday (March 22).

Batting first, RCB posted a total of 173 on the board, with top contributions from Anuj Rawat (48) and Dinesh Karthik (38*). Mustafizur Rahman was the wrecker-in-chief for CSK, finishing with figures of 4/29 in four overs.

In the second innings, the Super Kings got off a decent start, courtesy of Rachin Ravindra (37) and Ajinkya Rahane (27). Then, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 34 and 25, respectively, to take CSK home in the penultimate over.

Although CSK won the game, fans missed the presence of Matheesha Pathirana, as the team conceded 71 runs in the last five overs.

On that note, let's check out whether CSK should opt for Mustafizur Rahman or Matheesha Pathirana against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Tuesday (March 26).

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Mustafizur Rahman or Matheesha Pathirana?

CSK will certainly have a selection conundrum when they finalize their Playing XI against Titans. A recent post by the Super Kings' official account featuring Matheesha Pathirana received a great response, as fans expressed excitement about his return. The Sri Lankan pacer missed the last game due to a hamstring issue, and is likely to be available for the upcoming game.

In the 2023 season, Pathirana was among the key wicket-takers for CSK with 19 scalps in 12 games. He delivered toe-crushing yorkers and was successful in outfoxing the batters with his slower deliveries, aided by his slinging action.

Most importantly, the youngster took two wickets each in Qualifier 1 and final against the same opponent, the Gujarat Titans. So, he certainly has had the experience of doing well against the likes of Shubman Gill and David Miller. Also, Pathirana offers pace of over 140+ kph, which could be too much to handle for GT batters.

On the other hand, Mustafizur Rahman has been a consistent performer in T20s. In the IPL, he has 51 wickets in 49 appearances at an economy of 7.92. Rahman can be helpful for the side in the middle-overs, as he is good at rolling his fingers on the ball, which can be hard to put away for the batters.

The last game saw the Bangladeshi pacer securing breakthroughs with his out-swingers. However, Rahman has not yet proven himself in the death overs. In the last game, he conceded 23 runs off his last two overs, which came in the death.

When comparing their international form, Pathirana has the upper hand with 11 wickets in his last five games. Meanwhile, Rahman was mediocre in a T20I series against Sri Lanka, scalping just two wickets in three games.

Overall, Matheesha Pathirana seems to be the better fit, as per his current form and performances for CSK in IPL 2023.