Charith Asalanka; Strong and fearless bottom-hand-heavy player
Elipitiya is an idyllic, semi- rural Sri Lankan township nestling amongst lush green tea gardens, that originated as a plantation many years ago and boasts of more than a dozen tea factories. The area has no serious cricket-playing schools and boys wishing to play the game need to go Galle, Kalutara or Ambalangoda, to avail cricketing facilities. A soft- spoken, unassuming 24- year- old from that quiet little town is now making waves as one of the fastest rising stars of the new- look Sri Lankan side, having announced his arrival on the world stage at the recent T20 World Cup in UAE in no uncertain terms. Charith Asalanka, the stylish left hander who first played for the Senior National side in England, last June, is now a well-known name not just in his home country, but in world cricket as well.
So meteoric has been his rise through the ranks that after just over six months in International Cricket, with a combined experience of 1 Test Match, 11 ODIs and 9 T20Is, he has been elevated to the Vice Captaincy of the Sri Lankan T20 team and seems to have made the coveted No.3 spot his very own . He was Sri Lanka’s Player of the series against South Africa last September, amassing 196 runs from 3 games and followed that up with a stunning performance in the T20 World cup, where he batted fearlessly to become the highest run- getter for Sri Lanka and fifth overall, in the Tournament. ESPN put him on the shortlist for the ‘Debutant of the Year’ award alongwith four of his teammates in the national side, who could together, easily go on to make up the nucleus of one of the most exciting Sri Lankan sides to have emerged from the island- nation in recent years.
Former National Coach Micky Arthur could barely control his excitement as he described the two young players whom he feels could be the key to Sri Lanka’s batting success over the next decade, Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka. To him, the duo look set to herald another exciting new era of Sri Lankan sides punching above their weight, like the great teams of the past and could easily represent generation next for Sri Lanka in batting terms.
With these two at the top of the order combining with Wanindu Hasaranga, who looks to be a match winner on his day and Praveen Jaywickrama and Ramesh Mendis, the future is indeed bright for Sri Lankan cricket
“To see Charith’s development has been incredible,” Arthur said. The way he’s gone about his work, the professionalism that he’s shown, and his preparation for every game has been fantastic and is a credit to himself.” It has been a dream start to his career in both ODIs and T20Is and the way he has adjusted across formats in a short international career till date, has been a treat to watch. The 24-year old batting all-rounder, who bowls right-arm off breaks, has been one of the most promising young entrants on the International scene in a long time and looks to be a very exciting prospect for Sri Lanka over the coming years. He first announced his arrival on the big stage, acquitting himself admirably as captain of the Sri Lanka Emerging Team and has since then, sealed a place for himself in the national team in every format.
Growing up in Elipitya where his openings were necessarily limited, he had the opportunity of coming to Richmond College, Galle on a scholarship, something that changed his life and career prospects forever, as he took to elite level Cricket seriously and started to make a name for himself.
Galle and neighbouring areas had suffered extensive devastation in the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 when hundreds of households and coaches of an entire railway train were washed away. In a wonderful initiative, Middlesex and Surrey County Cricket Clubs in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, built two picturesque grounds in the wilderness, near Maggona and set up coaching facilities in the area to help young kids who had lost everything, to rebuild their lives through cricket. A lot of Sri Lanka’s future cricketing talent emerged through those programmes and some even made it to the National Team, changing their lives forever. A heart-warming Cricketing tale that bears retelling over and over again..
Asalanka had already been Sri Lanka’s Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year for two consecutive years and looked set for greater things. However, the quietly unassuming cricketer waited patiently till he finally got a call-up to the senior national squad. His Richmond College teammates Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Dananjaya De Silva had all by then, represented the country before him. But once he broke into the National side, he wasted no time in showcasing his undeniable talent and established himself as an elegant and flamboyant stroke maker. Today he is the Vice Captain of Sri Lankan T-20 Team as a result of his consistently outstanding performances since then.
From the depths of a duck in his debut match against England, he came good in the second ODI against India last year, scoring 65 off 68 balls as he held the Sri Lankan innings together. When Sri Lanka won the third ODI in a high scoring game, he again chipped in with an important contribution. He then came into his own in the opening T20I, smashing a 26-ball 44 in a lost cause. But he had made his mark and signalled his arrival on the International stage.
He continued in the same vein in the recent T20 World Cup in the UAE and was the hero of Sri Lanka’s incredible run chase in the match against Bangladesh, where he played his natural, attacking game on a true pitch. He blasted an unbeaten 80 off just 49 balls to power Sri Lanka past a stiff target of 172 at and then went on to play another superb knock against the West Indies to become one of the breakout stars of the T20 World Cup. In an innings that lasted 41 balls, Asalanka helped himself to a gorgeous 68, his innings studded with 8 fours and a six.
The stylish, 24-year- old left-hander, the highest Sri Lankan run-scorer in the T20 World Cup, played 6 innings in the tournament and plundered 231 runs at a superb average of 46.20 and an excellent strike rate of 147.13, inclusive of two brilliant fifties. Sri Lanka may not have made the knockouts, but Charith Asalanka had impressed everyone. Former Indian opening batsman Akash Chopra referred to him as the ‘real deal’, and added that he would expect quite a few Indian Premier League teams to queue up to acquire his services at the upcoming IPL auctions, opening up new vistas for the youngster.
At a juncture when Sri Lanka is on a rebuilding curve with emphasis on the 2023 World Cup in India and the next T20 World Cup in Australia later this year, the former Sri Lanka youth captain has definitively put his hand up as one of their biggest and brightest hopes, around whom future Sri Lankan teams would revolve.
A future that will carry the hopes of the island nation with it, as it seeks to regain its past glory as one of top cricketing sides of the world, boasting of a mix of hard-hitting batsmen and feared, match-winning bowlers.
