Young blood Vinuja Ranpul’s date with dream and desire
The outing against the Afghans was a one to remember
Sri Lanka’s U-19 speedster Vinuja Ranpul having featured in the recently-concluded World Cup declared and divulged playing in the biggest tournament of his life was living his dream.
“My maiden under-19 call-up was a pleasant surprise to me but I knew that I would be able to get selected considering my impressive performances for Nalanda College. It was my dream to represent my country at the Under 19 level” Vinuja said speaking to the Sunday Times this week.
When the national youth team landed in the Caribbean for the world cup this year, the cricketing fraternity anticipated that Sri Lanka would do something significant, considering the success that they had savoured leading into the 16-team showpiece event.
As expected, the lion cubs were able to live up to the expectations as they were unbeaten in the group stage. Their only blemish was in the quarter-final encounter against Afghanistan. Despite having to conclude the tournament at the sixth position they returned home with pride and a sense of satisfaction.
Among the success stories, Ranpul’s emergence is a prime example for the production of versatile all-rounders produced through the prestigious school cricket system that was once regarded as the best school cricket system in the world.
Due to his impressive performances at school level he was drafted to play for the Under-19 provincial tournament. The promising youngster kept the opposition batsmen on their toes and continued to impress the selectors.
He was selected to play the trial matches that were held leading up to the Under-19 home series against Bangladesh.
His commitment and consistency was rewarded when he received his maiden call up for the Sri Lanka Under-19 setup.
According to him, the decision that he took to join the Nalanda College was the watershed point of his cricketing journey and he regarded it as one of the main reasons in enabling him to represent the under 19 team within a short period of time.
Leading up to the series against Bangladesh they had a residential camp and during that time head coach Avishka Gunawardane had conversations with each and every player and the coaching staff that include, Upul Chandana (fielding), Chamila Gamage (fast bowling) and Sachith Pathirana (spin bowling) had worked tirelessly during the residential camp.
“Staying inside a bio-secure bubble itself was a unique experience. Being in a bio-bubble had enabled them to build up trust and unity among the team mates and the youngster felt that it was one of the main reasons for their success that led to impressive performances during the two home series and the Asia cup that was held in UAE leading in to the world cup in the Caribbean”, the 18-year-old said.
Before the world cup, Vinuja was one of the consistent fast bowlers as he had 10 wickets under his belt at an average of 18.10 during the two home series against Bangladesh and England.
After a successful commencement to his under 19 career against Bangladesh the youngster grew in confidence as a fast bowler. However, he hardly got an opportunity to show his versatility as an all-rounder as the youngster was slated to bat in the lower order, but that didn’t affect his mentality.
Vinuja says every player must adjust their game plan according to the team’s requirements.
“My role in the team was to bowl the full quota of overs and bat in the low order. We had a strong batting line-up. If I had to keep my position in the team, I had to be versatile, my goal was to be a consistent match-winner. I am pleased about the fact that I was able to perform on spin-friendly pitches at home”, Vinuja, the youngest of three children, explained.
Even though he was picked for the U-19 Asia Cup which was held in UAE, Vinuja was unable to find a place in the playing XI as the conditions were suited for spinners. However, it was the first time he was away from home and it was an unforgettable experience as he was a part of the squad that was crowned as the runners-up.
When the team arrived in the Caribbean for the U-19 World Cup, there was a sense of hope for the young all-rounder as the conditions were ideal for the fast bowlers. But he had to wait for a longer time than expected as the spinners dominated the proceedings throughout the group stage.
In the quarter-final encounter against the Afghans, Matheesha Pathirana, supposed to lead the attack suffered a shoulder injury. That only turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Vinuja, seizing the opportunity and finished with a five-wicket haul conceding only 10-runs. He also tried to swing the pendulum towards Sri Lanka during their run chase of 135 for victory but fell agonisingly short by 4 runs.
“Everyone was extremely disappointed about the result of the quarters. That game was within our grasp. But we made quite a few mistakes during the chase. But overall, we had a great tournament and it was a great experience for all of us. Despite having a successful tournament the quarter final loss still hurts” he recalled while expressing his views on the final moments of the quarterfinal loss.
Despite the heartbreak, Vinuja can hold his head high for his individual performances in the final few games where he scored 53-runs in the fifth place encounter against Pakistan.