OTD | Sri Lanka’s young off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana was born in 2000 

Sri Lanka has a reputation for producing maverick cricket stars who go on to rule the world. The likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Lasith Malinga are some of the well-known examples. Ajantha Mendis did shine for a while but he was later set aside due to lack of form. 

Maheesh Theekshana who turns 24 on Thursday has already become a well-known name in the cricket world. Maheesh Theekshana is an accomplished spin bowler with the ability to bamboozle and fox the best batters in the business with the ball. He has been a key player for both Sri Lanka and the Chennai Super Kings. 

With over 100 wickets across all formats even before he turns 25, Maheesh Theekshana has seen his star ascend. His spin bowling has been growing leaps and bounds and he is becoming a huge threat for various batters across the world. 

Maheesha Theekshana: Sri Lanka’s next bright star 

Ever since he has come into the fold in international cricket, Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana has been a huge threat with the ball. His game has shone through in the white-ball format 

Maheesh Theekshana made his foray into international cricket at the age of 21 during an ODI game versus South Africa. The right-arm spinner scored 10 with the bat and helped his side reach 203 runs from their 50 overs. With the ball, Theekshana began on a bright note with 4/37 from his 10 overs. 

The first two international wickets of Maheesh Theekshana were Janneman Malan and Heinrich Klaasen. He followed it up with the scalps of Rabada for 8 and skipper Keshav Maharaj for 15 as the Lankans won the match by 78 runs. 

Theekshana then made his T20I debut three days later against the same team. The home side lost the match by 28 runs as Theekshana ended with figures of 1/35 from his 4 overs with his only wicket being Klaasen. 

The youngster has also played two Tests which came in 2022 against Australia and Pakistan and has picked just 5 wickets while scoring 59 runs with the bat. Maheesh Theekshana has played a total of 42 ODI matches and picked 49 wickets while picking 49 wickets from 52 T20I matches. In the IPL he has played 27 matches for the Chennai Super Kings where he has picked 25 wickets with a best of 4/33 and an economy rate of 7.6 runs per over. 

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