Morawakage Maheesh Theekshana was born 1 August 2000 is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays for the national team in all three formats of the game. In September 2021, he made his international debut for Sri Lanka. He bowls similarly to former Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, who happens to be his mentor with the Sri Lanka Army cricket team. He is attached with Sri Lanka Army and plays club cricket for Sri Lanka Army Sports Club.
Maheesh Theekshana Personal Life
Theekshana grew up with his grandmother and hailed from Siddhartha Vidyalaya, Sedawatta. Two of the old boys from St. Benedict’s College, Colombo requested the guardian of Theekshana to switch their location to Kotahena in order to make Theekshana play school cricket representing St. Benedict’s College. In the first two years, the Cricket Wing of St. Benedict’s looked after his finances, and later St. Benedict’s College offered him a scholarship. During his final year at St. Benedict’s College, he won the All Island Best All Rounder Award.
Maheesh Theekshana Military Career
Theekshana joined the Sri Lanka Army, following basic training he served as a Private in the Gajaba Regiment and played for the Sri Lanka Army cricket team. Following the Asia Cup Championship in 2022, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
Domestic and T20 franchise career
The National Cricket Academy called him for trials after he impressed with the ball at school level at R. Premadasa Stadium. Simon Willis, director of cricket at National Cricket Academy, was impressed by his control, accuracy, bounce, variations, as well as his Ajantha Mendis-like bowling action. However, he was under scrutiny for his body weight as he weighed at one stage at 105 kilograms, 140 skinfolds, and also had difficulty passing fitness tests since he took 10.1 minutes to complete the two-kilometre tests as well as producing a subpar YOYO test conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket. He was also omitted from Sri Lankan U-19 squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup on the basis of fitness issues. According to some sources, Theekshana had weighed around 117 kilograms during his U19 days.
In August 2021, Theekshana was named in the SLC Blues team for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League tournament. In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Jaffna Kings following the players’ draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.
In February 2022, he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament. During the 2022 edition of the Tata IPL, he broke Rohit Sharma’s record to become the youngest ever bowler to take a four-wicket haul in an IPL match as he achieved the landmark at the age of 21 days and 255 days against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In July 2022, he was signed by the Jaffna Kings for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League. In July 2022, he was signed by Trinbago Knight Riders for the 2022 Caribbean Premier League.
In August 2022, he was picked up by Johannesburg Super Kings for the inaugural edition of the South Africa’s unnamed CSA T20 League, which is set to be held in 2023.
International career
Following Theekshana’s strong performances in the SLC Invitational T20 league, he was named in Sri Lanka’s One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for their series against South Africa. He made his ODI debut on 7 September 2021, for Sri Lanka against South Africa. In the match, he took a wicket with his first ball in ODI cricket. He took 4 wickets for 37 runs, helping Sri Lanka win the series 2-1. He became the first Sri Lankan international cricketer to be born in the 21st century. He made his T20I debut on 10 September 2021, also for Sri Lanka against South Africa.
In June 2022, he achieved his career best eighth ranking in ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings for bowlers.
In July 2022, he was added to Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the second match against Australia. He made his Test debut on 8 July 2022, for Sri Lanka against Australia. In August 2022, he was included in Sri Lanka’s squad for the 2022 Asia Cup. Along with Wanindu Hasaranga, Theekshana made the spin bowling department, where Sri Lanka eventually won the tournament for the sixth time. Theekshana made a consistent wicket taking option for skipper Dasun Shanaka, where he ended the tournament with 6 wickets for 162 runs with an economy of 6.75.
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 2 | 4 | 365 | 188 | 5 | 2/28 | 3/76 | 37.60 | 3.09 | 73.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 9 | 9 | 492 | 334 | 10 | 4/37 | 4/37 | 33.40 | 4.07 | 49.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 32 | 32 | 733 | 802 | 31 | 3/17 | 3/17 | 25.87 | 6.56 | 23.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FC | 5 | 7 | 779 | 422 | 13 | 5/76 | 5/76 | 32.46 | 3.25 | 59.9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| List A | 22 | 22 | 1060 | 696 | 28 | 4/37 | 4/37 | 24.85 | 3.93 | 37.8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| T20 | 81 | 80 | 1807 | 1905 | 89 | 4/25 | 4/25 | 21.40 | 6.32 | 20.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 2 | 3 | 0 | 59 | 38 | 19.66 | 149 | 39.59 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| ODI | 9 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 11* | 28.00 | 59 | 47.45 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| T20I | 32 | 12 | 6 | 31 | 11* | 5.16 | 33 | 93.93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| FC | 5 | 8 | 0 | 131 | 38 | 16.37 | 280 | 46.78 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| List A | 22 | 12 | 7 | 56 | 15 | 11.20 | 127 | 44.09 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| T20 | 81 | 25 | 13 | 64 | 11* | 5.33 | 71 | 90.14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 0 |
Maheesh Theekshana Controversy
The fans of Chennai Super Kings expressed their grief and vent their frustrations in disbelief by trending hashtags #Boycott_ChennaiSuperKings and #DontNormalizeTamilGenocide in various social media platforms soon after Chennai Super Kings bought Theekshana during the 2022 IPL auction.
Maheesh Theekshana Education
He has completed his initial schooling at a private school in Colombo and after that, he did his education till graduation at St. Benedict’s College, Colombo.
Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Morawakage Maheesh Theekshana |
| Nickname | Maheesh Theekshana |
| Profession | Cricketer |
Personal Details | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 August 2000 |
| Age (as of 2022) | 21 years |
| Place of birth | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Marital Date | Not Known |
| Girlfriend/ Affairs | Not Known |
| Wife/Spouse | Not Known |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Zodiac Sign | Leo |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Hobbies | Travelling, Playing Cricket |
| National side | Sri Lanka |
Maheesh Theekshana Cricket Life | |
|---|---|
| International Debut | Test – N/A ODI – 7 September 2021 v South Africa T20I – 10 September 2021 v South Africa |
| Domestic/ State Team |
|
| Jersey Number | 61 |
| Coach Name | Mickey Arthur |
| Batting Style | Right-hand |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm offbreak |
| Role | Bowler |
| Famous Shots | Cut Shot |
| Awards Name | |
Maheesh Theekshana Physical Appearance | |
|---|---|
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Body Colour | Fair |
| Height (approx.) | in Feet Inches – 5’9” | in Meters- 1.75 M |
| Weight (approx.) | in Kilograms- 75 Kg | in Pounds- 165 lbs |
Education | |
|---|---|
| Educational Qualification | Graduate |
| School Name | Not Known |
| College / University Name | St. Benedict’s College, Colombo |
Maheesh Theekshana Family Details | |
|---|---|
| Father Name | Not Known |
| Mother Name | Not Known |
| Brother Name | Not Known |
| Sister Name | Not Known |
| Children | Daughter- Not Known | Son- Not Known |
Maheesh Theekshana Net Worth | |
|---|---|
| Net Worth (Approx.) | $4 million |
| IPL Fee 2022 | ₹70.00 Lac |
| Maheesh Theekshana Favourite Things | |
|---|---|
| Favourite Cricketer | Batsman- Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar Bowler- Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Shane Bond, Dale Steyn |
| Favourite Ground | R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo |
| Favourite Destination | Not Known |
| Favourite Actor | Not Known |
| Favourite Actress | Not Known |
| Favourite Film | Not Known |
| Favourite Food | Not Known |
| Favourite Animal | Not Known |
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