WATCH: Lasith Malinga clone spotted in Sri Lankan U19 side

There are very few cricketers in the world who could grab attention as Lasith Malinga did. From the initial appearance with his curly, colored hair, to his run-up which involves a little kiss on the ball at the beginning and eventually, the side-arm release that proved so fatal for so many cricketers – He was the ultimate maestro of the limited-overs format and an absolute legend of the game.

In the years that went by after his emergence, many bowlers tried to emulate him and after all these years, that trend is still very much continuing. Matheesha Pathirana, who is part of the Sri Lankan U19 team currently and could potentially appear in the U19 World Cup next year, clearly has taken inspiration from the former Sri Lankan captain. He is grabbing a lot of attention with his side-arm release, already making headlines in a lot of places.

Pathirana had a sensational outing against Kuwait in the U19 Asia Cup, where he registered figures of 2/7 in just 3 overs. But it was slinging action really captured all attention. With Lasith Malinga, you can nearly predict halfway through his run-up how the release is going to be. Pathirana is a lot more deceiving in that sense, who walks in with a pretty stiff and upright body, only to bend over during the moment of release and delivers it side-arm.

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The 19-year-old born in Kandy is one of the topmost talents in the country right now and had a plethora of T20 franchises lining up to sign him ever since he came into prominence. As it stands, he has played 2 T20 games and 1 List A, but at just 19, it’d be fair to say that sky is the limit for this youngster.

Here’s a look at the Lasith Malinga clone who has been busy ripping defenses apart.

Lasith Malinga announced his retirement from professional cricket in September this year, and this decision came nearly 8 months after he decided to quit T20 cricket. He finished with some great accolades added to his tally, including the T20 World Cup in 2014, which he won as captain.