Sports

Arthur impressed by all-round skills of Santhush Gunathilaka

Published

6 years ago

2020/11/15

by Rex Clementine

Sri Lanka are taking several young players to South Africa for the two match Test series and while most of them are there as cover because last minute injury replacements are impossible to be flown in due to the pandemic, the one who perhaps has got a chance to make his debut in the Boxing Day Test of Centurion is all-rounder Santhush Gunathilaka.

The 21-year-old is a top order batsman who bowls seam and he has impressed Head Coach Mickey Arthur.

“Very impressed by Santhush Gunathilaka. We are trying to develop a seam bowling all-rounder for conditions outside Asia. It’s tough to find in Asia someone who bats in the top six and bowls seam and we are excited by the talent set of Santhush,” Arthur who has coached the likes of Jacques Kallis and Shane Watson, top class all-rounders told Sunday Island.

What is ahead of Sri Lanka when they tour South Africa is a daunting task indeed. After they surprised the Proteas last time around becoming the first nation to win a Test series in South Africa, the hosts have given them two of the quickest wickets this time – The Wanderers in Johannesburg and Centurion, half hour’s drive from the capital.

Historically Sri Lankan sides have fared poorly at both grounds with Hashan Tillakaratne being the only batsman to post a hundred at one of those venues. Apparently, during his knock 16 years ago, the South Africans slip cordon kept reminding Hashan that the only drive he was going to get was from the ground to the hotel and back.

The 22 players who will tour South Africa began a week-long residential camp in Pallekele to prepare for the series.

“We have to get back into Test match mode We deloaded them after the Bangladesh series was pushed back. Now we have to get them back to load up. We want to build all over so that the boys get the right amount of work ahead of the tour. You can not ask a fast bowler to bowl four overs in LPL and then to bowl ten to 15 overs in a Test match. Skills simply won’t be at the appropriate level,” Arthur explained.

“Going to South Africa and playing on those bouncy wickets, you have got to get the batsmen’s technique get going. It’s all about preparation. The last thing we want to do is to take a team there without much preparation,” remarked Arthur.

There are nine seam bowlers in the squad, something that you expect when the team tours to South Africa. The return of Dushmantha Chameera is the most talked point in cricket circles. Once the quickest bowler in the country, Chameera has played little cricket since the 2015 World Cup due to injuries.

“Very excited about Dushy in particular going into South Africa. He bowls a good bouncer and hurries the batsman up. We have him and Lahiru Kumar putting a lot of pace into our attack. Then we have Suranga Lakmal who is always on the money. We are having a good pace battery for the tour.”

Also drafted into the squad for the first time is 20-year-old left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka.

“There is a lot of promise there in Dilshan. He is obviously our seventh seamer. We see a future for him and we need to make sure that he learns and works with David Saker, our Fast Bowling Coach.

There is some criticism as batsman Lahiru Udara has been overlooked for the tour having scored heavily in domestic cricket. Arthur explained the reason. “He has certainly not been overlooked. He is in our system. We have conveyed what he needs to work on and he knows that. Why we have opted for someone like Lahiru Thirimanne is that he gives you stability, depth and experience particularly in a place like South Africa.”

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Sri Lanka to face India in semi-finals after washout

Published

6 hours ago

2026/09/29

Priyan

Rain has been a constant for the past few days (Cricinfo)

Sri Lanka will face India in the semi-finals of Asian Games men’s tournament after their quarter-final clash against Nepal was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Nisshin, Japan. The game was called off prior to the toss, with rain having begun hours prior to the scheduled 9am local start and not looking like abating.

Sri Lanka’s progression was assured by virtue of their higher seeding in terms of the ICC T20I rankings – Sri Lanka, alongside India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the four seeded teams in the tournament. On Monday, India had qualified over Afghanistan after another washout, again by virtue of their higher. Similarly, Pakistan’s qualification was assured following a rain abandonment in their quarter-final against Hong Kong.

In the 2022 Asian Games, Sri Lanka had been eliminated at the quarter fial stages by Afghanistan. Another washout in the semis against, India though, will see the latter qualify for the final.

A few hours later, the fourth quarter-final between Bangladesh and Malaysia was also washed out. Bangladesh will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final on October 1, followed by India vs Sri Lanka later on the same day

(Cricinfo)

Latest News

Bangladesh to take on Pakistan in semis after another washout

Published

6 hours ago

2026/09/29

Priyan

Litton Das' team is closer to a medal finish (Cricinfo)

The Bangladesh vs Malaysia abandonment on Tuesday completed a quartet of rained off matches in the Asian Games men’s tournament. The match was called off two hours before the toss, with the teams told not to even turn up at the venue.

Bangladesh, by virtue of higher seeding, go through to the semi-finals where they will now face Pakistan on October 1. Earlier in the morning, the Sri Lanka vs Nepal fixture was also called off due to rain, with Sri Lanka advancing into the semi-finals where they will meet India.

There is, however, some good news, as the weather forecast in Nisshin is better for the semi-final and the medal match day, on October 1 and 3, respectively.

In the last edition (2023), Bangladesh had lost to India in the semi-final but won the third-place playoff against Pakistan to take home the bronze medal. They had won the bronze in 2014 as well and Bangladesh’s best finish was winning the gold medal in 2010, when they beat Afghanistan in the final.

(Cricinfo)

Sports

Tharanga seals remarkable season with Asian Games gold

Published

10 hours ago

2026/09/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rumesh Tharanga reached Japan as the overwhelming favourite

by Reemus Fernando

‎

World javelin leader Rumesh Tharanga lived up to his billing to win Sri Lanka a highly anticipated gold medal, overcoming wet weather and a slow runway at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Monday.

‎The overwhelming favourite after a string of victories at global level this year, Tharanga made an unlikely start, opening with 73.52m in the first round and trailing his South Asian rivals, including reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan. At the halfway mark he surged ahead with a massive 88.33m, then sealed the contest with 88.55m.

‎”He rose like a true champion at the most crucial moment. It was an incredible performance in these wet conditions,” veteran coach Susantha Fernando, who watched from the stands, told The Island. “I was blessed to see a Sri Lankan win gold at back-to-back Asian Games.” Fernando’s own charge, Tharushi Karunaratne, won the 800m at the last edition. He was one of the team coaches at the venue yesterday.

‎The 23-year-old, trained by Tony Prasanna, arrived in Japan as world No. 1 and the season’s leading thrower. In June he became the first Sri Lankan to throw beyond 90m, launching a national-record 92.62m at the Rome Diamond League. In July he beat India’s Neeraj Chopra to take Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, and this month he won the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest. He also became the first Sri Lankan to win the Diamond League title. He was the only thrower in the field with two throws beyond 92m this season.

‎With such a reputation to carry, a Games record (89.15m) was widely expected, and Tharanga came close, but nearly every thrower struggled in the wet conditions.

‎With Chopra absent, India’s Y. Singh and R. Yadav took silver and bronze with 85.72m and 84.35m respectively. Nadeem finished just outside the podium with 80.29m. Former national record holder and Olympian Sumedha Ranasinghe was sixth with 78.08m.

‎

‎Akalanka impresses in hurdles

‎‎Meanwhile, hurdler Ayomal Akalanka produced one of Sri Lanka’s best performances among those who narrowly missed the podium, finishing fifth in the men’s 400m hurdles.

‎Running from lane two, the 20-year-old clocked 49.37 seconds against an elite continental field. The former Ambagamuwa Central Udubulathgama athlete stayed in contention throughout the final and finished ahead of Japan’s Kazuki Kurokawa, India’s Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan and Kazakhstan’s Vyacheslav Zems.

‎Qatar’s Bassem Hemeida won gold in 47.82, with Japan’s Taiju Goto taking silver in a personal best of 47.93. Taiwan’s Chung-wei Lin claimed bronze in a personal best 48.74, and his compatriot Jian-rong Chen was fourth in 49.25.