An allrounder who bowls slow left-arm, Sachith Pathirana's rise to the national side has been long-awaited, since his promising time in the Under-19 team. Pathirana captained Sri Lanka's U-19 side at the age of 17 in a one-day tri-series against England and Malaysia, and a year later, made a major impact in the 2008 U-19 World Cup, hitting 231 runs and taking 10 wickets.

Having come through Trinity College in Kandy, Pathirana began his senior career at Colombo Cricket Club, before moving to Ragama Cricket Club, and eventually Chilaw Marians in 2012, for whom he had been a talisman. His strong first-class performances in the 2012-13 season did not escape the national selectors' attention, and he was named in the squad for Sri Lanka's home ODI series against Bangladesh, but Pathirana did not manage to nail down a place in the national squad.

With spin-bowling allrounders the likes of Chaturanga de Silva, Seekkuge Prasanna and Milinda Siriwardana also in the national fray, Pathirana competes in a crowded field.

Andrew Fidel Fernando