Nugawela Central�s Saranga in Sri Lanka under 19 team
L.B. Dissanayake Senkadagala Sports Corr.
Seventeen year old Saranga Rajaguru of Nugawela Central College
brought honour to his alma mater when he was selected to represent Sri
Lanka Under 19 cricket team on its forthcoming tour of Australia in
preparation for the Under 19 World Cup to be held in New Zealand early
next year.
Saranga, a right arm leg spinner who bowls with a lot of variations
and a dependable middle order batsman performed creditably in the last
inter school cricket season and at under 15 and under 17 levels to catch
the eyes of the selectors.
His most notable performance came in the annual big match against
Walala A Rathnayake Central College when he captured a match bag of 12
wickets for 120 runs (5 for 55 and 7 for 65), which gave Nugawela
Central College its first outright win of the series.
He also gave a sterling performance with the ball by capturing 6
wickets for 4 runs against Nuwara Eliya District representing Kandy
District team in the recently concluded inter-district cricket
tournament match.
M.A.N. Muzny, Saranga�s coach at Nugawela Central College has put a
lot of effort to mould this young cricketer as a national prospect.
Coach Muzny, who represented St. Anthony�s College, Kandy, when it
was the best cricket playing school in Sri Lanka, rubbed shoulders with
all-time greats like Muttiah Muralitharan and Piyal Wijetunga and learnt
his cricket under Sunil Fernando, one of the most respected coaches in
Sri Lanka.
Muzny, with his dedication to the game and with his experience in
coaching has done a wonderful job for this rural school by producing a
national player at under 19 level while most of the big schools in the
city failed to do so.
The team selected for the tour of Australia
Chatura Peris (Capt. St. Peter�s), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (V. Capt.
Royal), Andri Berenger (St. Peter�s), Udara Jayasundara (Ananda), Rumesh
Buddhika (Mahinda), Nipun Karunanayake (Nalanda), Denuwan Rajakaruna (Mahinda),
Kithruwan Withanage (Royal), Akshu Fernando (St. Peter�s), Adeesha
Nanayakkara (Nalanda), Dhanushka Gunathilaka (Mahanama), Rushan Jaleel
(Trinity), Charith Jayampathi (DSS), Lahiru Jayarathn (St. Peter�s),
Kasun Madushanka (St. Servatius, Matara), Saranga Rajaguru (Nugawela
Central College). |
