Saranga Rajaguru national potential

S M Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports corr.

Once again Saranga Rajaguru is the only schoolboy cricketer from the hill capital, if not from the Central Province who has been selected from for the Sri Lanka under 19 cricket team against England under 19 team which is now touring Sri Lanka.

Rajaguru who is a by spinner who turns the ball viciously first played for Nugawela Central College and was first coached by former Antonian cricketer and umpire Ahamed Muzny.

Spin coach

Failing to impress the selectors in Kandy, Ahamed Muzny took him to the national spin coach Piyal Wijetunga who put him through his paces in Colombo and found him to be a quality bowler who could be an asset to the national side. He was immediately included in the junior pool.

Aravinda de Silva too was highly impressed by the turn this young cricketer was extracting off the pitch. All this was related by his coach Ahamed Muzny who took great pains to ensure that this highly talented cricketer from a lesser known school playing in Schools Division three cricket tournament gets his due and blossoms out.

He comes from a poor family and cannot afford the expenses involved in travelling from Kandy to Colombo for practices regularly.

Initially Wijetunga helped him and later Sri Lanka Cricket helped him in a big way, so that he may continue his cricket.

He was full of praise for the officials of the SLC who gave him every encouragement.

At the time he was included into the junior national pool, his exposure was at schools lower division cricket but he soon made the grade. His first big time experience was when he captured 5 for 3 for Kandy District against Nuwara Eliya District in an inter-district limited over match two years ago.

Several trips

Since then he has made several trips abroad with the Sri Lanka under 19 team. His performances for the Sri Lanka under 19 team is as follows.

In 2009 5 wickets in 5 matches in the tour of Australia.

In the Tri-Nation cricket tournament in Sri Lanka involving Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh he to captures 5 wickets in 3 matches.

Against South Africa in 2 matches he captured 5 wickets.

At the 2010 Youth World Cup in New Zealand, he captured 10 wickets in 3 matches.

In the tour of England in 2010, he played in 11 matches and captured 21 wickets. His overall figures would have been much better but when the paces and other bowlers were among the wickets, he had to be brought in late.

In school cricket he has been performing well having captured 68 wickets in 2008, 48 wickets in 2009 and 58 wickets in 2010 for Nugawela. He had the potential to capture over a hundred wickets in 2009 and 2010 for his school but missed most of the matches due to foreign tours and pool practices in Colombo.

In his final match for Nugawela Central against Wallala Central in their big match of 2010, he scored 90 and 114 and also captured a match bag of 10 wickets to guide his school to victory.

Saranga Rajaguru is also a hard hitting bat and could be transformed into a spin allrounder and could be an asset to the national team.

Rajaguru from this season will turn out for St Anthony’s College, Kandy – the school which produced the world’s best off spinner Muthiah Muralitharan and the National spin coach Piyal Wijetunga himself.

He could play school cricket in 2012 too. At St Anthony’s College he could further sharpen his skills as he will be playing at a higher level of school cricket.

A very humble schoolboy and his sudden rise to stardom and to the junior national team from oblivion has not spoilt him.

More exposure

Though in the junior national team, he continued to play for his school Nugawela Central college for two years. But he needed more exposure at a higher level which prompted him to go over to St Anthony’s college.

His first coach Ahamed Muzny still has a eye over him advising and assisting him whenever the necessity arose. They have formed a good liaison.