The rookie who gave King Kohli a rare duck
At the age of 21, Lokumarakkalage Dilshan Madushanka has earned stardom as the latest find to the Sri Lanka cricket team. Hailing from a cosy town of Hungama in Hambantota, the former student of Hungama Vijayabahu National School, a school that does not play cricket at any level, has done his hard yards to earn his place in the national team as a left-arm speedster.
Though he made the international debut against Afghanistan in the ongoing ACC Asia Cup 2022, Madushanka became an instant hit in the game against India. Having the experienced Virat Kohli’s stumps shattered for a duck was Madushanka’s moment of glory, so was it for his team.
Former ace left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, who apparently got hold of Madushanka through a district coach revealed the first instance he met the aspiring bowler, who then had no experience with the leather ball at all.
“It’s a long story. I met Dilshan (Madushanka) through our Hambantota district coach Manjula Karunaratne. I was part of the Sri Lanka Under-19 coaching staff, in which Hashan Tillekeratne was the head coach and Upul Chandana was the fielding coach. The Indian Youth team was touring Sri Lanka and we had a training programme for the already picked Youth squad of 40. I told Manjula to get us some net bowlers, and that’s when he told me about Dilshan,” Vaas told the Sunday Times.
District coach Karunaratne had already explained to Vass that Madushanka comes from a school that does not even play junior cricket, that yet he was convinced by his impressive talent, being a left-arm fast bowler. After learning background of Madushanka, Vaas still wanted him to be a part of the programme as a net bowler.
“He did some net bowling, but there were flaws in technique and basics. But his pace was impressive. I convinced Hashan about Dilshan and I brought him to Colombo. He was placed at Colts with the help of the club president Nishantha Ranatunga and I managed to provide him training before getting him to play in some Mercantile games, where he bowled impressively. Areas like the run-up and his action had to be perfected. He badly needed strengthening and conditioning and Darshana Weerasinghe played a bigger role in that. With Hashan aiya’s help and selectors being impressed, we managed to get him into the Youth side in no time,” Vaas related from Kanpur, India where he is to appear for the Sri Lanka Legends team in the Road Safety T20 League.
Being a left-armer himself, Vaas was one of many people who was awestruck when Madushanka claimed the wicket of Kohli, who regained his lost form at the ongoing Asia Cup, and had already added value to his wicket after two back-to-back half centuries against Hong Kong and Pakistan. But the former Indian skipper was outsmarted by an inswinger which came at a speed of closer to 140kmph. Kohli’s attempt to play across was beaten by Madushanka’s stunner, as he succumbed without scoring.
But Kohli made amendments to his lost pride by hammering a century against Afghanistan in the following game. This only added more value Madushanka’s claim of Kohli. Madushanka did not just stop there, he went on to claim two more scalps in the first and third deliveries of the 19th over, conceding just four runs. His victims this time were Deepak Hooda and Rishant Pant, off varied paces. This prevented the Indians from handing Sri Lanka a much bigger target.
“He is a class paceman. Not only he maintains a good speed, but his swings are unplayable. Even this was the first instant I faced him, and Madushanka has a bright future ahead of him as a fast bowler,” Indian skipper Rohit Sharma praised the young Sri Lankan pace ace.
Madushanka’s first international appearance however, happened two years ago when he represented Sri Lanka at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2020. He claimed a five-wicket haul against Nigeria in a first round game and the performances there opened him the doors to first class cricket the very same year. He turned out for Colts Cricket Club since March 2020.
Later that year, he was named into the Sri Lanka Test squad against the visiting South Africans, but did not reach the playing XI. In February 2021 Madushanka earned his ODI call against West Indies, but had to sit out in the bench through the series. He was drafted into the Sri Lanka Test series against Bangladesh in April 2021 and later in April 2022 but his international debut kept on dragging to a later date.
His true potential came to light with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ side that played against the visiting Australia ‘A’ which earned him a place in the Sri Lanka Test squads against Australia and Pakistan series.
“After me, Vishwa Fernando did well as a left-armer but unfortunately he’s lost touch a bit. Even Binura Fernando is unfortunate due to injury breaks. Now there are three formats and players, especially fast bowlers need to be careful of what they choose to play. Dilshan should be well taken care of, he has a long way to go. But still there are certain areas he needs to be careful of. I’m sure the coaching staff is taking care of these areas. He needs to improve and I’m also in touch with him,” said Vaas, who wished to see Madushanka surpass his own achievements someday.