Ishan Jayaratne

Ishan Jayaratne is a quality right-arm speedster and an equally brilliant lower-order batter, he has represented Sri Lanka U-19s, Sri Lanka U-21s, as well as Sri Lanka A sides, but the all-rounder couldn’t make the leap to the highest level, swiftly. 

Born in Colombo, Jayaratne wanted to be a musician but he equally loved the game of cricket, hence, decided to take the sport as a profession. Through his initial days, the all-rounder admired Sanath Jayasuriya and wanted to walk on his idol’s pathway. Jayaratne started young and went up through the ranks, he was also part of the Sri Lankan contingent that toured Malaysia for the U-19 World Cup of 2008. 

Although, the allrounder didn’t play any match in the World Cup but returned home to make his domestic debut for the Colts Cricket Club. He made his List-A debut in the 50-over domestic tournament in 2009, where he took two wickets on debut. However, he didn't play any more games that season. Jayaratne took two more years to make his first-class debut, he made his Premier Trophy debut in 2011. But he revolutionized himself during the 2012–13 season, where he took 23 wickets off just seven matches. 

Since his breakthrough season, Jayaratne has been a consistent performer in the domestic circles. At 32, after playing more than 200 professional games, the seasoned campaigner was named in Sri Lanka's squad for their tour of England, in 2021. The allrounder might have got the tag of late-comer but he would like to stamp his prowess and cement himself in the national squad, across all formats. 

(As of June 2021)