Nalanda skipper Avishka Perera joins elite group after scoring second 1,000
Every school boy’s dream is to score thousand runs in a season. Nalanda skipper Avishka Perera reached the milestone consecutively in 1918/19 and 1919/20 seasons, becoming the first Nalandian batsman to reach the top.
For a school that had produced the majority of national players, young Avishka deserves a special seat among the elite lot.
A batsman with a quick eye, fine foot movements and excellent body balance, prefers to go on song without delay. He prefers to meet the ball off a good length and dispatch it through the ‘V’ area giving no chance to the fielders.
According to Avishka, because he is confident of his batting style he prefers to have a good look at the bowlers in the first four to five overs and goes on business upsetting the bowlers’ line and length. A batsman who prefers to play on the front foot, he makes the ball to sail into the stands when he comes down the wicket.
The secret behind Nalanda’s excellent record this season is his inspiring leadership, knowing how to get the best out of his team. Leading from the front, the stumper makes use the of the experience he gets standing behind as the wicket keeper. He is the one who has the best view of the ball movements and the field. His ability to follow the ball from the bowler’s arm gives him time to adjust for a stroke, middling the ball to reach the boundary.
He had shown leadership capabilities from his younger days, having led the Nalanda Under 15, 16 and Under 17 teams. He led his alma mater to the Schools Under 15 championship. His batting style remains the same in all formats of the game which is the hallmark of his style.
Avishka’s thousand runs last year included three centuries and this season he notched up four hundreds. He rates the 120 he made at the last Battle of the Maroons encounter as his best and says he fulfilled a dream of his life time in scoring a century on the big occasion.
Being a member of the Sri Lanka Under 19 squads that toured Pakistan, Bangladesh and for the Asia Cup, Avishka said the experience that he got playing on different types of wickets made him learn to make the right shot selection and to come in line with the moving ball.
The Nalanda skipper also gained a lot of experience playing in the Super Provincial tournament mixing with branded players and following their techniques in batting and how the skippers handle the bowlers, change of bowling and field placements. Speaking with the seniors of various aspects of the game had made him learn to take the correct decision at the correct time.
As the captain of the side, Avishka had made his team to learn that everyone has a part to play when they step on to the turf. He always expected someone to rise to the occasion when it demands. It is interesting to note that someone played a major role in every Nalanda victory this season. Under Avishka’s leadership Nalanda remained unbeaten in the Singer Schools cricket tournament scoring eight wins and scoring an equal number of wins in the traditional clashes.
This dashing Nalandian plans to climb the top step by step and went on to say that at the moment he is involved in school cricket and when time permits he plays for Lankans CC in the major league to perform well and get selected to the Under 23 and emerging teams and later to the national team.
Avishka also said that he is grateful to his coaches, Pubudu Aluvihare, Imal Boteju, Keerthi Gunaratne, Shanuka Dissnayake and Prasanna Dssanayake who guided him to come this far as a cricketer and a good citizen.