Sandun Weerakkody

Dharshanapriya Sandun Weerakkody, commonly known as Sandun Weerakkody is a Sri Lankan international cricketer. A wicketkeeper-batsman by craft - Weerakkody is a rare cricketer - who can do it all, starting from batting to bowling to keeping the wickets. 

Born in Colombo, Weerakkody has graduated from Dharmaraja College. The wicketkeeper-batsman first introduced himself when he donned the Sri Lanka U-19 jersey during the 2011-12 season. He was also part of his country’s team during the Youth World Cup in 2012, where the keeper was his team’s highest run-getter, with 189 runs at 63 including the best of 112* against Ireland U-19. 

Soon the Colombo-born was rewarded for his wonder at the ICC event, when he received the honours to play the Premier League Tournament Tier A, to make his First-Class debut for Nondescripts Cricket Club in March 2012. A couple of days later, he made his T20 debut during the CSN Premier Clubs T20 Tournament. Later in that season, the keeper made his List-A debut in the Premier Limited Over Tournament in December 2012. 

Since his debut, Weerakkody has taken his game a notch higher with every season passing. After consistently polishing himself in the domestic circuit for five seasons, he was named in the ODI squad for the series against South Africa, in January 2017. 

The Lankan made his ODI debut at Port Elizabeth, but he failed to perform. In his very second outing, he scored a well-flourished half-century against a daunting Proteas bowling line-up, however, Sri Lanka lost the run-fiesta by 40 runs. 

Later in March, the keeper was named as cover for Kusal Perera for the T20Is against Bangladesh but didn’t get his chance. However, since then, he has been out of the national team, as the cricketer has failed to prove his fitness standards. 

In August 2021, Weerakkody was named in the SLC Reds team for the SLC Invitational T20 League, but prior to the first match, he failed a fitness test. The keeper-batter can become an asset for the national team, across all formats, provided he works on his fitness. 

(As of August 2021)