Kulasekara a good prospect for National team
Dilanka Mannakkara
[ Kosala Kulasekara]
* Full name: Chamith Kosala Bandara Kulasekara
* Born: July 15, 1985, Mawanelle
* Major teams: Galle Cricket Club,
Nondescripts Cricket Club, Ruhuna, Sri Lanka A, Sri Lanka Academy XI,
Sri Lanka Cricket Development Squad XI, Sri Lanka Cricket President’s
XI, Sri Lanka Under-17, Sri Lanka Under-19
* Playing role: All-rounder
* Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
* Height: 6 ft 1 inch
* Education: Vidyartha College, Kandy
[ Career statistics]
* First-class debut: 2002/03
* List A debut: 2004/05
* Twenty20 debut: Nondescripts Cricket Club v
Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club at Colombo (Bloomfield), Oct 16, 2005
Big hitting Fast bowling all-rounders are a rare breed and is an
asset to any team. Starting from the golden era of fast bowling all
rounders in the 80s which comprised the likes of Imran Kahn, Sir Richard
Hadlee, Sir Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham and Kapil Dev, quality fast bowling all
rounders have always given a side the x factor. Sri Lanka have unearthed
some genuine fast bowling all-rounders in the recent past and they have
immediately made an impact to the team.
Kosala Kulasekera who stands 6’1” is a big hitting fast bowling
all-rounder who has been a regular performer in the domestic circuit and
came into the limelight with some good all-round performances for his
team Ruhuna in the Provincial One day and T/20 tournament.
Allround performances in the provincial tournament
Kosala has been the stand out fast bowler of the Ruhuna bowling
attack which mainly comprises spinners. In the recently concluded
provincial T/20 tournament Kosala scored a whirlwind 43 of just 15 balls
against Basnahira North.
His knock which comprised 5 boundaries and 3 towering sixes helped
Ruhuna to go from a modest total to a winning one. He also took 4
wickets for 26 runs with his nippy fast bowling in the same match and
his 3 wickets in one over was a vital factor in Ruhuna winning the
match. He ended the tournament with 8 wickets and 81 runs to his credit.
In the Provincial one day tournament Kosala played some useful cameos
for Ruhuna, despite batting at number 8 on most occasions. It included
an important innings of 17 runs of 14 balls in the final against a
strong Kandurata bowling line up.
He ended the tournament with 105 runs in 6 matches with a great
strike rate of 91 and an average of 21. “I have batted in difficult
situations where the team needs quick runs and there are only two or
three overs left with one or two wickets in hand and I think that most
often I have done my job well”said Kosala.
Highest wicket taker
Kosala performed exceptionally well in the 2009/10, three day
tournament for his club NCC by claiming 41 wickets from 9 games and
became the highest wicket taker among fast bowlers in the circuit. In
the 2008/09 season also Kosala proved his all round abilities by scoring
506 runs and taking 24 wickets. In the 2008/09 season he recorded a
career best bowling performance by taking 6 wickets for just 13 runs
against Moors who were eventually bundled out for a paltry 36 runs.
‘’I have developed and matured quite a lot as a fast bowler. National
fast bowling coach Anusha Samaranayake has helped me to improve on my
technique, pace and ball release” said Kosala when asked about his
recent success with the ball. He also has been a floater in the batting
line up but often bats in the number 4, 5 position for NCC.
Unusual beginning to Cricket
Kosala had an unusual beginning to his cricketing career as he
started off as a swimmer and won the third place in the all island
swimming championship and he just selected cricket as his second sport.
After sometime Kosala took a surprise liking towards cricket and gave up
on his first love, swimming.
Kosala who learnt his cricketing A,B,C at Vidyartha College Kandy
showed a lot of promise even as a school boy cricketer. He captained the
Central Province Under 17 and 19 teams and eventually got selected for
the Sri Lankan Under 19 team in 2004.He performed well in the Under 19
World Cup in 2004 and won two man of the match awards for his all round
abilities with the bat and ball.
Due to the immense potential as a budding young cricketer and because
of his excellent performances as an allrounder, Kosala won a cricket
scholarship to England in 2005 along with Upul Tharanga. He had the
opportunity of leading the Sri Lanka Cricket Academy team against the
England Academy team and a strong South Africa “A” team.
He joined NCC soon afterwards and has been a regular member of the
side. He scored a blistering 98 runs of just 45 balls against Air Force
in 2005 in the inter club 20/20 tournament.”
I love playing the lofted on drives and off drives and I have made a
lot of runs by just hitting straight,coaches Romesh Kaluwitharana and
Chandika Hathurusinghe have helped me a lot in improving my batting
techniques and I have learnt to be more patient to wait for the bad
balls to hit ”said Kosala reasoning out his recent successes in batting.
Kosala is presently employed at HNB and is grateful for their ample
support. Kosala is hard at practice for the upcoming Sri Lanka ‘A’ team
tour of Australia and hopes to perform well to earn a well deserved
place in the national squad of Sri Lanka.
Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50
First-class 54 84 4 2185 129 27.31 56.08 2 12
List A 59 53 10 1021 74 23.7 4 75.23 0 3
Twenty20 26 19 3 0259 98 16.18 148.85 0 1
Bowling
Mat Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR
First-class 54 2581 111 6/13 8/108 23.25 3.38 41.1
List A 59 1460 57 4/27 4/27 25.61 4.48 34.2
Twenty20 26 541 25 4/26 4/26 21.64 7.67 16.9 |
