bowler
| Full name: | Morawakage Maheesh Theekshana |
| Nationality: | Sri Lanka |
| Batting style: | right handed batsman |
| Bowling Style: | off break right arm |
| Date of Birth (Age): | August 01, 2000(22) |
| Zodiac Sign: | Leo |
| Height: | 175 cm |
| Hometown: | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Jersey Number: | 61 |
| Batting Style: | Right Handed Bat |
| Bowling Style: | Right-arm offbreak |
| Social Media: | Twitter, Instagram |
| League | Test | Odi | T20i | First class | List a | T20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 2 | 27 | 38 | 5 | 43 | 124 |
| Innings | 4 | 27 | 38 | 7 | 43 | 123 |
| Overs | 60.5 | 229.1 | 146.1 | 129.5 | 350.5 | 469.1 |
| Balls | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Maidens | 10 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 20 | 4 |
| Runs | 188 | 1032 | 974 | 422 | 1554 | 3113 |
| Wickets | 5 | 44 | 34 | 13 | 66 | 127 |
| Avg | 37.6 | 23.45 | 28.64 | 32.46 | 23.54 | 24.51 |
| SR | 73 | 31.25 | 25.79 | 59.92 | 31.89 | 22.16 |
| Eco | 3.09 | 4.5 | 6.66 | 3.25 | 4.42 | 6.63 |
| BB | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 4w | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 5w | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10w | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| League | Test | Odi | T20i | First class | List a | T20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 2 | 27 | 38 | 5 | 43 | 124 |
| Innings | 3 | 14 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 37 |
| Not outs | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
| Runs | 59 | 120 | 34 | 131 | 153 | 108 |
| Balls Faced | 149 | 212 | 48 | 280 | 291 | 148 |
| Avg | 19.66 | 15 | 3.77 | 16.37 | 10.92 | 5.68 |
| SR | 39.59 | 56.6 | 70.83 | 46.78 | 52.57 | 72.97 |
| Fours | 6 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 7 |
| Fifties | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sixies | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Highest | 38 | 28 | 11 | 38 | 28 | 15 |
| Hundreds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
ODI Series Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
PAK
299
SRI
293
ODI Series Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
PAK
289
SRI
288
ODI Series Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
PAK
215
SRI
211
T20 Pakistan Tri-Series
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
SRI
95
ZIM
162
T20 Pakistan Tri-Series
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
PAK
131
SRI
128
T20 Pakistan Tri-Series
SRI
148
ZIM
146
T20 Pakistan Tri-Series
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
PAK
178
SRI
184
T20 Pakistan Tri-Series
PAK
118
SRI
114
International League T20
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
SHAW
181
EMI
185
International League T20
Dubai International Cricket Stadium
GULF
158
SHAW
157
International League T20
Sheikh Zayed Stadium
EMI
168
SHAW
174
SA20 League
PRET
JOSK
SA20 League
DSG
JOSK
SA20 League
JOSK
DSG
SA20 League
JOSK
SUN
T20 World Cup
Colombo
SRI
IRL
T20 World Cup
Kandy
SRI
OMN
T20 World Cup
Kandy
AUS
SRI
T20 World Cup
Colombo
SRI
ZIM
The IPL 2026 mini-auction was a bundle of surprises, with the uncapped trio of Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, and Auqib Nabi earning big. Kartik and Prashant were picked by Chennai Super Kings for identical sums of INR 14.2 crore, while Nabi found a place in the Delhi Capitals’ squad for 8.4 crore.
Maheesh Theekshana was born on August 1, 2000. He plays cricket for Sri Lanka in all three formats. He started playing for the national team in September 2021. Many people consider him one of the best bowlers in limited-overs cricket. His bowling style looks like that of Ajantha Mendis, a former Sri Lankan spinner who also coached him at the Sri Lanka Army Sports Club. The ICC ranks him as the number one bowler in One Day Internationals.
He bowls spin at speeds over 100 km/h and can deliver yorkers, which is rare for a spinner and hard for batsmen to face. He also bats well in the lower order.
Besides cricket, Theekshana serves in the Sri Lanka Army. After basic training, he became a Private in the Gajaba Regiment and played for the Army cricket team. After the Asia Cup in 2022, he was promoted to Sergeant.
2021
2022
2024
Maheesh Theekshana has played in important T20 leagues around the world. He took part in the Lanka Premier League, the Indian Premier League, and the Caribbean Premier League. Recently, he also joined the SA20 league, which helped him grow as a spinner in franchise cricket.
Maheesh Theekshana joined the Lanka Premier League in 2020 when he was picked by the Jaffna Stallions. At first, he was in the supplementary group and could not play, but after Thisara Perera recommended him, he moved up to the emerging group and joined the team. He played for the Jaffna Kings from 2020 to 2023 and was the top wicket-taker in the 2021 tournament. Since 2024, he has played for the Galle Marvels.
| Year | Team | Notes |
| 2020 | Jaffna Stallions | Started in supplementary group; promoted to emerging after recommendation |
| 2021 | Jaffna Kings | Top wicket-taker in the 2021 Lanka Premier League |
| 2022 | Jaffna Kings | Signed for the third Lanka Premier League season |
| 2023 | Jaffna Kings | Continued with Jaffna Kings |
| 2024 | Galle Marvels | Joined the Galle Marvels team |
Maheesh Theekshana was bought by Chennai Super Kings in February 2022 for the IPL season. He made his debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad and became the youngest bowler to take four wickets in an IPL match, breaking Rohit Sharma’s record at 21 years and 255 days old. He played an important role in the 2023 season when CSK won the title, though his fielding was sometimes weak.
In the 2024 IPL auction, Chennai Super Kings bought him again for 70 lakh rupees. He played his last match for CSK in May 2023 against Gujarat.
In 2025, Theekshana joined Rajasthan Royals after being bought at the IPL auction in Jeddah for 4.4 crore rupees.
| Year | Team | Notes |
| 2022 | Chennai Super Kings | IPL debut; youngest to take four wickets in a match |
| 2023 | Chennai Super Kings | Played in a winning season; some weak fielding |
| 2024 | Chennai Super Kings | Bought for 70 lakh rupees; last match vs Gujarat |
| 2025 | Rajasthan Royals | Bought for 4.4 crore rupees in the IPL auction |
In July 2022, Maheesh Theekshana was signed by the Trinbago Knight Riders for the Caribbean Premier League. He joined the team to play in the 2022 season.
| Year | Team | Notes |
| 2022 | Trinbago Knight Riders | Played in the 2022 CPL season |
Maheesh Theekshana played for the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 League in 2024. He continued to be part of the same team in the 2025 season as well.
| Year | Team | Notes |
| 2024 | Joburg Super Kings | Played in the SA20 League |
| 2025 | Joburg Super Kings | Continued with the team |
Maheesh Theekshana showed talent in school cricket and got a chance to try out at the National Cricket Academy. The coaches liked his bowling because of his control, accuracy, bounce, and different deliveries. His bowling style was like Ajantha Mendis's. Early on, Theekshana had problems with his weight and fitness. He once weighed over 100 kilograms and struggled to pass running and fitness tests. This kept him out of the 2018 Under-19 World Cup team.
He made his List A debut for Colts Cricket Club in March 2018 and his first-class debut in December 2018. After joining the Sri Lanka Army in 2020, he worked hard to get fit, lost a lot of weight, and improved his running times. This helped him continue his cricket career. He also trained with Ajantha Mendis while playing for the Army’s Under-23 team.
In 2021, Theekshana played for the SLC Blues in the Invitational T20 League. Later, he joined the Johannesburg Super Kings for the South African T20 League in 2023. He has played domestic first-class matches from 2018 to 2022, List A games from 2018 to 2025, and T20 matches from 2018 to 2025.
Maheesh Theekshana has achieved many important records and awards in his cricket career. He has stood out in international games and domestic tournaments. Here are some of his key records and achievements by year:
By year:
Maheesh Theekshana was born on August 1, 2000, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He lived with his grandmother and started school at Siddhartha Vidyalaya in Sedawatta. Later, two former students helped him move to St. Benedict’s College to play cricket there. The school supported him with money at first and then gave him a scholarship. He showed his talent by winning the All-Island Best All-Rounder Award in his last year. He does not have a public record of a wife or children.
He grew up with his grandmother. Some old students of St. Benedict’s helped him switch schools for cricket. The school paid for some of his expenses and gave him a scholarship. He gave back by winning a big cricket award in school. No information is available about his wife or kids.
In 2025, his net worth is about 1 million dollars, equal to around 7 crore rupees.
When Chennai Super Kings bought him in the 2022 IPL auction, some fans protested on social media. They used hashtags like #Boycott_ChennaiSuperKings and #DontNormalizeTamilGenocide because he served in the Sri Lankan Army.
He has nearly 293,000 followers on Instagram.
