South Africa-bound southpaw Dilshan Madushanka eager to fulfil childhood dream
Madushanka was lucky to come under the wings of his idol Chaminda Vaas
Ever since the Under-19 World Cup this year, the cricket fraternity in Sri Lanka has observed with interest the progress of a promising left-arm fast bowler, who emerged from the rural village of Hungama in the Hambantota district. Despite having numerous obstacles to overcome in life, Dilshan Madushanka pursued his dream, determined to represent Sri Lanka.
Among the many difficulties early in his career was having to convince his parents, who were reluctant to allow him to play cricket believing that it would be a distraction from his studies. Despite the challenges he had to come across, his passion for the sport didn’t diminish.
His cricketing journey began at Vijayaba Central College, Hungama, which had only junior cricket and was coached by J.H.M. Illangaratne and Hashan Tharinda. Thus he never played first XI cricket in school. However, his career took a turn when Hambantota District coach Manjula Karunaratne spotted him when he represented the Under-15 team. Madushanka blossomed thereafter and went on to represent the Under-19 district team.
The turning point of his career was meeting his idol Chaminda Vaas. The former Sri Lanka fast bowling great became his mentor.
“When I came to Colombo, I didn’t even have the required cricketing materials. I’m grateful to my mentor Chaminda Vaas who has been nurturing me and monitoring my progress ever since I came to Colombo,” he recalled.
Vaas has been a great influence in Madushanka’s rise, working tirelessly with this talented youngster. His selection to the Sri Lanka Under-19 team in January 2019 also changed the attitude of his family members towards the sport, convinced that he had a bright future in the sport.
“My father is a busy person in the fisheries sector. Those days he didn’t have any interest towards the game. But my inclusion to the Under-19 cricket team changed his perception towards cricket,” said Dilshan, who has been a consistent performer during the past year.
Despite being consistent, he never took his place in the team for granted. He continued his dedication and commitment, making sure that he won’t be left out from the team. His dedication was rewarded when he was picked for the Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa. He went on to take 13 wickets in six matches and became the fourth highest wicket taker in the tournament.
In a coincidence, he was able to scalp five wickets on the day of his mentor’s birthday.
Dilshan also praised the head coach during the World Cup Hashan Tilakaratne for his successful campaign in South Africa. He is determined to follow in the footsteps of his mentor and at the same time concentrating on basics, referring to it as the secret for his consistency during the tournament.
“Representing my country at the Under-19 World Cup was an honour and it was my childhood dream. I can’t believe that it became a reality in a short period of time,” he said.
Soon after the World Cup, he joined the Colts Cricket Club where he was able to shine on his debut taking eight wickets against Negombo CC. Following his heroics for Colts, he got a rare opportunity to join the training camp that was held in Pallekele for the national team’s upcoming tour of South Africa and was picked for the preliminary squad.
Madushanka is aware that he has a long way to go in his career to fulfil his ambition of becoming a quality fast bowler. For the time being his focus will be on the inaugural season of the LPL where he represents Dambulla Viikings.
“It is an honour to play in my hometown. I am quite excited to play the LPL. I got this chance due to the consistency that I showed during the Under-19 World Cup. The LPL will be a learning curve for me and I certainly hope that it will be a stepping stone to make my dream of representing Sri Lanka a reality,” he said.
For Dilshan this is just the beginning of a long journey. It remains to be seen whether he will live up to the billing as the next fast bowling sensation of Sri Lanka.