The new southern star
Dananjaya Lakshan was impressive at the inaugural LPL, turning out for Galle Gladiators
The cricketing fraternity in Sri Lanka witnessed a glimpse of the capabilities that our future generation possesses during the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL). It did provide a fine platform for young Sri Lankans to showcase their talents to a global audience.
Among the youngsters that participated in the tournament, Dananjaya Lakshan emerged as one of the rising stars.
This is the story of a promising talent who has ambitions of being a genuine all-rounder in the national cricket team in the near future like his idol England World Cup hero Ben Stokes.
Dananjaya showed an interest for cricket at an early age, playing softball cricket with his cousins. As his passion for the game grew over the year, his father noticed his talent.
In every sportsperson’s life, their family plays a crucial role in enabling them to concentrate on improving their performance. Dananjaya’s family members also made numerous sacrifices to help his pursue his cricket career and education.
“I think I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional cricketer without the sacrifices my family has done on behalf of me. They have motivated me at all times to take my game to the next level,” said Dananjaya during an interview with the Sunday Times.
A proud product of Richmond College, Galle, Dananjaya commenced his cricket career at the age of 11. He represented his school in all the age groups, captaining the first XI team in his final season. Under his captaincy Richmond tasted victory on several occasions. In 2017, they won the limited over championship where Dananjaya led from the front scoring 250 runs in four matches. In the same year they were crowned as champions in the two-day tournament with the most outright victories that year.
Captaining the side enabled the young all-rounder to learn many aspects of the game which helped him prosper at under-19 level.
Coach Danushka Denagama has been an inspirational figure in Dananjaya’s cricketing journey instilling not only the basics of the sport but also to play the game in the right spirit.
Among his memorable moments in school cricket was his century in the second innings of the Lover’s Quarrel Big Match (Richmond – Mahinda) in 2017, the first player to do so in the series.
An attacking left-hand batsman, he represented the College first XI for four years where he came under the wing of Dhammika Sudarshana who was recently appointed as the head coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 team.
From the outset, his ambition was to get in to the Under-19 national cricket team. The stepping stone was playing in the Super Provincial tournament for Galle. Selected to represent the Sri Lanka Under-19 in the 2018 Youth World Cup, he was one of the consistent performers with the bat, scoring 250 runs at an average of 50. Former Sri Lanka star Roy Dias who was head coach played a key role in Dananjaya’s successful World Cup campaign as an opener.
“He taught us the way batsmen should approach when playing in countries such as New Zealand. Roy Dias recalled his experiences while on tour and gave us invaluable advice throughout the tournament,” he said.
Being able to learn from one of the best batsman the country has ever produced is a dream come true for 22-year-old Dananjaya who feels he has the attributes to be an all-rounder like Stokes.
Dananjaya had been a consistent performer for Colts Cricket since making his first class debut in 2018. It was rewarded when he was picked by the Galle Gladiators for the inaugural edition of the LPL.
Initially picked as a supplementary player, the team management led by former Pakistan captain Moin Khan included him in the playing XI after seeing his capabilities as an all-rounder during practices. He was an integral member for the Galle Gladiators especially with the ball claiming 13 wickets at an average of 17.3.
He displayed his tenacity with the bat during the nail-biting semifinal against the formidable Colombo Kings, where he scored an unbeaten 31 to rescue his team from the jaws of defeat. For his versatile performance he was awarded as the player of the match. His consistent performances saw him crowned as the ‘Emerging Player’ of the tournament.
Dananjaya regards the LPL as the turning point of his career. He was pleased about the fact that he was able to display his competence as a youngster. He praised former Pakistan fast bowler Muhammad Amir for sharing some invaluable insights about game plans, on and off the field. He was also thankful for the Galle Gladiators coaching staff and management for spotting his abilities.
Despite being successful he is aware of the fact that there is a long journey ahead of him. He will look to take the confidence that he got from LPL forward as well as concentrating on improving his fitness in his bid to represent the national team.
At a time when the national team is searching for genuine all-rounders and top order batsmen, Dananjaya could be a perfect candidate in the hour of need.