Vishwa Lahiru striving through adversity to Achieve his childhood dream
There are numerous inspirational stories on how young cricketers have shone through adversity to overcome challenges and achieve their ultimate ambition of representing their country at international level.
Similarly, Vishwa’s cricketing journey until his entry to the Under-19 national cricket team has been an inspirational story. Having shown his passion and enthusiasm towards the sport at an early age, he was enrolled in to the Sri Sumangala College Cricket Academy.
Despite being determined to become a professional cricketer, Vishwa hails from a middle income family that had to go through numerous challenges to allow this gritty youngster to concentrate on his cricket while his parents worked tirelessly to cover his expenses.
“It was my childhood dream to represent the national cricket team. I am extremely grateful for the sacrifices my family has made,” Vishwa recalled while he was narrating his cricketing journey.
He grew under the shades of his first Coach Jayathu Neelaweera, who taught him the basics of the sport that he adore the most. During the initial stages of his development as a cricketer, Vishwa started his career as a fast bowler. But his life took a turn during a practise match at the academy. His coach, who has seen his progress from close quarters explained the reasons behind his transition from a fast bowler to a spinner.
“The career changing incident took place during a practice match. He was bowling spin to a few of his teammates in a side net. One of the coaches at the academy had identified that this youngster had all the attributes of becoming a quality spinner and eventually it turned out be the turning point of Vishwa’s career,” his first coach, Neelaweera recalled.
From there onwards his school cricket career blossomed. He took 50 wickets in his first year in the Under-13 tournament. He had a steady progress at the school cricket arena. Vishwa is considered to be a quick learner, and he continued to dominate the school cricket arena at all age group levels. Due to his dominance, he was given the responsibility of captaining the Under-13 team in 2017.
After his appointment as captain, Vishwa was determined to be an example to his team mates and he reaped the rewards for his commitment and the dedication he has shown for his batting. In his first year as captain he scored 250 runs and took 50 wickets in 10 matches.
By then he was growing in confidence as he showed glimpses of his abilities as an all-rounder. He was pleased about the fact that he was able to transform himself to an all-rounder so that he can contribute more to his team’s success.
“During my initial years I considered myself as a bowler, but now I am happy to contribute as a batter as well. I worked hard for hours at the nets and with my coaches. It has enabled me to take my game to the next level,” he said.
The youngster continued to showcase his dominance at all age levels. Due to his staggering performances he was selected to represent the college’s first XI team in 2016 at the age of 14. From that point of time Vishwa had the privilege to represent the respective age group level and the senior Xi cricket team simultaneously.
In 2018, he played his maiden full season as a first XI player. In that he took 50 wickets in 10 matches. The following year, 2019, was a memorable one for the young Sumangalian as he played his maiden Battle of the Gold big match encounter.
“I played my first big match in 2019. It always gives us a unique experience and there is some pressure since we have to play in front of packed stadium and at the same time we have to protect the pride of our school. I have been fortunate enough to represent my school in three big matches and I will cherish those memories forever,” the youngster recalled.
Vishwa had made an impression in his first big match encounter and one day encounter where he was crowned as the best bowler. He became the best bowler in five out of six occasions after appearing in three big matches and three 50 over encounters.
Despite the disruption due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, it did not affect his hunger to succeed. In 2021 Vishwa became the best bower in the Under-19 Division II category claiming 22 wickets in eight matches
In 2022 he was crowned as the best all-rounder in the Division II category after a stellar season. He took 25 wickets and scored 270 runs. He also had the honour of captaining the first XI team in the 2022/2023 season.
After a successful school career, the focus shifted to the Sri Lanka Under-19 squad as the preparations began for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Sri Lanka Ccricket had organised an Under-19 Inter-District Tournament 2023. Vishwa took six wickets at an average of 16.33 with an impressive economy rate of 3.11 and ensured that he received his maiden call up in to the Under-19 national team.
His inclusion to the Under-19 cricket is a historic moment for Sri Sumangala College as well. The previous occasion where a cricketer from the college represented the Under-19 team was 22 years ago when former Test cricketer Dilruwan Perera did the honours.
“I always wanted to make my country proud. I was confident about the possibility of my chances of being selected in to the Under-19 set up. My family has done a lot of sacrifices in enabling me to be a professional cricketer and I hope I can do justice to their efforts by making them proud,” he noted.
Up to now he has taken 13 wickets in as many matches at an average of 31.38 in Youth ODIs and has also played two Youth Test matches, where he has taken five wickets at an average of 26.60. The 19-year-old all-rounder elaborated on the challenges that he had to encounter while adjusting his game plan according to the pitch and conditions.
“In Sri Lanka we have pitches that are suitable for spinners. However in the UAE we have to be patient on docile pitches. In Pakistan we have to bowl more dot balls and force the batsmen to commit a mistake. Patience is key when it comes to bowling on irresponsive pitches,” the young left-arm spinner explained, while praising the Under-19 national team coaches for being supportive at all times.
He played crucial roles in Sri Lanka’s home series against West Indies by 2-1 and in the historic 3-2 series win in Pakistan. While he was away in Pakistan he was crowned as the best fielder at the Under-19 Cricket Awards which makes this year even more memorable for the budding all-rounder.
“I always want the ball to come towards my direction. I am a firm believer that being an agile fielder will make you a complete cricketer,” he told with pride.
He idolizes legendary left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and wants to follow the footsteps of Indian star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. He has ambitions of representing Sri Lanka in all three formats of the game.
Vishwa Lahiru hopes to commence his journey with an impressive performances during the Under-19 Asia Cup and the Youth World Cup and gradually move forward to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a quality all-rounder in years to come.
- Ishan Samaraweera