Kaushalya Weeraratne

Kaushalya Weeraratne, a former cricketer who donned the Sri Lankan jersey during 15 One Day Internationals and five T20 Internationals. He was a right-arm medium-fast and taunted to be a seam-bowling allrounder on the back of his flourishing lower-order batting at domestic circles.  

Weeraratne was a product of his nation’s prestigious Trinity College that has a world-level cricket stadium, which helped the Gampola-born’s growth as a cricketer. The pacer started representing Colts CC during the 1999-00 season and then donned the national colours during the U-19 World Cup in 2000. During the Junior World Cup, the Sri Lankan bagged 12 wickets at a healthy average of 13. 

The pacer got fast-tracked by the national selectors to make his ODI debut during the Asia Cup, later in 2000. Weeraratne grabbed a lot of limelight in the multinational tournament as he starred in the game against India by picking 3-for-46, including wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, and Robin Singh. 

However, poor form and injuries halted the Sri Lankan’s growth on the international stage. The pacer was dropped from the national team in 2003, after being an irregular. Weeraratne made an inspirational comeback after five years for the West Indies and was also a member of the winning team from the 2008 Asia Cup. 

In 2008, Weeraratne’s bowling variations and lower-order batting skill sets led him to make his debut in the shortest format, but couldn’t cement his place in the team. The seam-bowling allrounder last played an international game in 2009 and after grinding himself in the domestic circuit, Weeraratne decided to retire from all forms of the game in 2014. 

(As of April 2021)