Maheesh Theekshana: from rags to riches

by Rex Clementine 

This year, we have seen the remarkable rise of two young players, who overcame poverty and several hardships to become household names of the game of cricket. Pathum Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan to make a hundred on debut overseas while Praveen Jayawickrama was quite a sensation picking up 11 wickets on his debut.

Maheesh Theekshana is the latest sensation having picked up a wicket on his first ball in international cricket and ending with four wickets as Sri Lanka beat South Africa on Tuesday to complete a rare series win. It is the first time in seven years that Sri Lanka have beaten a team ranked top five. Like Praveen and Pathum, Maheesh too has overcome many obstacles in life and he is ever thankful for the mentoring, support and the guidance he has received during his formative years.

Maheesh grew up with his grandmother and hailed from the little heard Siddhartha Vidyalaya, Sedawatta. Two old boys of St. Benedict’s College, who are actively involved with school’s cricket; Shanthilal Silva and Vivian Saverymuthapulle,  approached Maheesha’s guardian to make the shift to Kotahena where he could play cricket at a very competitive level. St. Benedict’s with a lot of goodwill and support from the old boys have the capability to look after promising sportsmen and students.

Once the recommendation was made by St. Benedict’s Cricket Wing to Sports Coordinator Rev. Br. Pravin Vaz (FSC), he approached the school’s Director Rev. Br. Janaka Fonseka (FSC) to recruit the player to St. Benedict’s, one of the leading cricket-playing schools in the country. Being top sports enthusiasts, the brothers needed little convincing to bring Maheesha to Kotahena.

The Cricket Wing of St. Benedict’s looked after his expenses for the first two years and then the College offered him a full scholarship. It was a smart move. St. Benedict’s had not produced a Sri Lanka cricketer since 1979 and the drought ended with Maheesh making his debut having joined Bens at under-15 level.

Maheesh won the All-Island Best All-Rounder award in his final year at school. Then he joined Sri Lanka Army to play cricket. There he was lucky to come under the wings of two former Sri Lanka captains; Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera, two guys who are ideal for mentoring young players.

When the first Lanka Premier League (LPL) came around, Maheesh wasn’t among the players in the draft. He was in a supplementary category which made him ineligible to play. But then Thisara told Jaffna Stallions about this guy with a unique ability. His specialty was being able to bowl like Ajantha Mendis. Jaffna owners listened to their captain and requested SLC to shift him from Supplementary to Emerging category. Then, they bid him for US$ 10,000.

That Jaffna deal changed Maheesh’s career.  We have often seen players with too much of talent ruining things for themselves once they get a bit of fame and money.

But as for Maheesh, he has a good head above his shoulder. The first thing he did with the money he received from Jaffna is to inform St. Benedict’s current sports in-charge Rev. Br. Dilshan Vimukthi (FSC) that he will be giving a portion of his contract fee from the LPL to St. Benedict’s to help up and coming young cricketers. Players who do not forget their past should prosper.