Sports
Big dreams inside a ‘small’ basketball court
Interview with Praneeth Udumalagala
by a Special Sports Correspondent
Praneeth Udumalagala has come a long way in one of his chosen sports basketball and is a hot prospect when he turns out for Sri Lanka in tournaments here and abroad. He is a rare sportsman having represented his country in swimming and basketball. But the latter is what has given him so much recognition and a clear view of what he loves to do in the future. He is engaged in business and manages to dedicate time for competitive sport as well. In an interview with ‘The Island’ Udumalagala spoke about his love for basketball, his work engagements and future plans.
Excerpts of the interview:
Q- How is your busy life as a player dedicated to basketball?
Well, it’s a full schedule just like any other dedicated athlete. The time revolves around training, strength and conditioning and other aspects of the game. My love for the game is such I enjoy every moment as a basketball player.
Q- You say you are looking at playing professional or semi-professional basketball in the future? Please elaborate on that a bit.
At this stage in my basketball career, I want to consistently reach to higher standards outside of Sri Lanka. If any overseas league gives me an opportunity to play professionally or as a semi-professional I would be ready to take up the challenge. I was able to play in the Nepal basketball league in 2019 and I am looking forward for the next.
Q- You are a national athlete and have represented Sri Lanka at many international tournaments. How is the feeling to represent Sri Lanka in your chosen sport?
I was able to represent my country in two sports. As a youngster during school days, I was able to represent Sri Lanka in both swimming and basketball. The pride of representing your country is the ultimate feeling for any athlete in his or her chosen sport. Once you wear the national jersey and step on the court you just want to give your 101% to make your people proud and bring glory to your nation. That feeling is hard to express in words.
Q-What is your best performance for Sri Lanka at an international tournament?
I think the toughest tournament I played in for the national team was the FIBA Pre-qualifiers 2021 in Bahrain. I believe that was my best performance where I was able to average 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and three assists throughout the tournament. Apart from that winning the SAG silver medal in 2019 is a great moment where we were able to create history and I’m glad I was able to do my best for the team and country.
Q-Tell us about your experience in representing team Times International Basketball Club which became champions in the Nepal Basketball League
It was such a memorable experience. The league was a month and a half long. By the time I joined the team the league had already begun, and my team had played a couple of games. There was little to no time to see how I fitted in best in the team format, but everyone in my team was excited to have me as much as I was to play in the league. From the league organization, my team management, competition level to the fan base the whole league was such a hit. It couldn’t be any better as we were able to win the league and I was on top of my performance.
Q- Being adjudged as the Sri Lanka Basketball Player of the year in 2015 must have made you feel proud. Do you think you were able to continue the momentum and win more honours in the sport?
It was indeed a proud moment. More than winning more or any honours to be frank the focus was always to be on the top of my game. No matter the situation, when my name is called, I always want to be ready to deliver more than what’s expected. Once I’m able to do what I do best, the rest will fall into place naturally, the recognition and honours will come.
Q- You played your part in Sri Lanka winning Silver at SABA championship 2011 in India. Can you compare how these two nations have progressed in the sport from there onwards?
Yes, that year was a memorable one as it was my debut year paying for Sri Lanka. As unfortunate as it sounds, India has since been improving and making strides in basketball while we struggle to go forward. The biggest difference I see is that India treats basketball as a professional sport while that is not the case in Sri Lanka. The national players here have their full-time jobs to take care of, then comes basketball. Saying that, I’m hopeful that many good things are ahead for Sri Lanka basketball and its players as we have a new leadership in the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation.
Q- You’ve been a regular in the Sri Lanka national team since 2011. How do you see yourself being there for contention when other promising youngsters are also knocking on the door for a playing slot?
The current national team is full of youngsters and promising talent. I am delighted to be playing alongside them to share my experiences and hand over the baton as we go forward. It is important I be on top of my game immaterial if I’m playing with experienced senior players or with talented youth. The playing minutes in a game are based on who’s the best inside the lines and as long as I play in the level I’m playing now it’s safe to say the youngsters could learn a lot and we can get better as a team.
Q- Are you employed and tell us something about work in office and how you manage to engage in competitive sport as well?
I play contract basketball for FairFirst insurance Ltd. I work with my father-in-law and help manage the production process at Shisasa Holdings International Pvt Ltd. I am also a part of the coaching staff at my alma mater St. Joseph’s College Colombo 10.
I have my own company IImpact Hoop Lab Pvt Ltd. Under IImpact Hoop Lab I run my own basketball skills training programme, produce basketball rims and backboards in Sri Lanka.
Q- The COVID pandemic was a challenge to everybody. How did you cope?
The COVID pandemic was a very difficult time period for me, and it still is as we speak. But just like any other challenge we can’t give up on our dreams. My goal was to survive these tough times and hope it will pass by soon. The training programme came to a halt, but we manage to do few online trainings and individual home visits for some of our athletes. Things are looking positive now and I am hoping to return to the programme as soon as I can.
Q- What are your future goals and plans in life and sport?
My goal is to continue to work hard and grow my company IImpact Hoop Lab. I want to work hard, create a dedicated basketball skill training centre for my training programme and help athletes to reach higher levels in the game of basketball. Through my company we produce affordable, high quality basketball rims and backboards that are made in Sri Lanka and we are also scaling into court construction. I will continue to play basketball as long as I can all the while I grow in other aspects in life. At the end of the day I want to be an exemplary role model for every basketball player out there.
This series picks up from Bangladesh’s finest red-ball hour against arguably Pakistan’s bleakest one. Two years ago, Bangladesh came to Pakistan with six away Test wins in their history, and increased that tally by two in two weeks. Pakistan had never lost a Test to Bangladesh before that, but during late summer 2024 in Rawalpindi, a page turned in their cricketing relations.
This time around, the series takes place at an odd, off-kilter time. Neither side has played any Test cricket in six months, with Bangladesh’s last series a straightforward home wipeout of Ireland. Pakistan hosted South Africa in October, splitting the two Tests down the middle. This is the only red-ball international cricket Pakistan have played in 14 months.
Pakistan have filled that time going all in on T20 cricket, preparing for the recent T20 World Cup, before throwing themselves into a full PSL season. There will be just four days between the end of the PSL and the first day in Mirpur.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, have endured a more barren time. They refused to travel to India for the T20 World Cup and that has meant their only international cricket all year was an ODI series against Pakistan and New Zealand’s visit for a white-ball series [ODIs and T20Is]. Wins in all three mean they have a perfect record in international series in 2026 – a record that Pakistan will hope to put to a sterner test than they managed two years ago.
In 2024, Bangladesh’s seam attack outshone Pakistan’s, with Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed’s movement, and Nahid Rana’s rapid pace, causing more trouble than their Pakistani counterparts. If anything, Rana is in even better form, cutting Pakistan down in the sides’ ODI series, before shining in the recent PSL final for Zalmi, for which the BCB granted him special permission. Bangladesh’s four-man pace attack also includes Shoriful Islam and Ebadot Hossain, alongside Rana and Taskin, and could pose its own challenges against Pakistan.
Pakistan may hope the pitches allow a spin-bowling face-off instead. Soon after Bangladesh’s humbling of Pakistan in that 2024 series, Pakistan volte-faced from playing an all-seam attack in the first Test. Instead, their pitches assisted spin from ball one. To exploit that, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali have run riot on accommodating surfaces. If Mirpur offers assistance for the spinners, Pakistan will feel confident they have the personnel to go toe-to-toe with the hosts.
Mushfique Rahim struck a century in his 100th Test, against Ireland in November last year. He will take fresh guard against Pakistan, despite speculation about his impending retirement. Mushfiqur has resisted being pushed towards the end unless he wants to. His 191 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi was a testament to his hunger for runs, as was his celebration during this milestone 100th Test against Ireland. Mushfiqur remains a vital cog in the Bangladesh middle-order. Pakistan will be wary of him, particularly in Dhaka.
Sajid Khan has found his international opportunities limited to home Tests, but this wasn’t always the case. His first six Test matches all took place away from home, with his finest away moment coming in Bangladesh, at this very ground in Mirpur. With rain laying waste to the best part of three days of that Test, Sajid wrenched the game from the clutches of the weather. He took eight wickets in Bangladesh’s first innings, to bowl them out for 87, and narrowly force a follow-on. Four more in the second innings saw Bangladesh bowled out on the fifth evening, giving Pakistan a sensational innings win. This series is perhaps Sajid’s best chance to demonstrate he remains useful outside Pakistan.
Bangladesh are likely to bring in Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana in place of Khaled Ahmed and Hasan Murad, respectively. Shoriful Islam’s white-ball form would put pressure on Ebadot Hossain’s place.
Pakistan have been dealt a blow with Babar Azam* ruled out of the opening Test due to a left knee injury. His absence leaves a hole which is likely to be filled in by a debutant. The visitors will likely go in with two spinners in Sajid and Noman, which leaves them a choice of two of four fast bowlers. With Imam-ul-Haq back in the side, Pakistan are expected to hand a debut to one of Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal at the top of the order.
Bangladesh (probable): Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Fazal/Azan Awais, Shan Masood (capt), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Amad Butt, Shaheen Afridi, Noman Ali, Khurram Shahzad/Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan
[Cricinfo]
Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) much-vaunted pace attack applied the skids on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a banana-peel clash at the Ekana Stadium. They successfully defended 219 in a rain-truncated 19-overs-a-side contest three nights after 228 didn’t seem anywhere enough against Mumbai Indians.
The orchestrator-in-chief was Mitchell Marsh, who converted his second fifty-plus score of the season into a peerless 56-ball 111, setting up the defence on a surface that offered pace, bounce and carry.
Then, Prince Yadav used these elements as his ally to bowl a ball to Virat Kohli that will perhaps make the top-five deliveries of the season. When RCB’s chase truly kicked into gear courtesy of Rajat Patidar, Prince returned to dismiss Devdutt Padikkal and Jitesh Sharma within five deliveries to turn the game around.
Patidar’s dismissal three balls later, to end a six-fest, all but sealed LSG’s third win in ten matches that keeps them alive mathematically. RCB remained third on 12 points, only a superior net run rate separating them from Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans.
He manifests playing a World Cup with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. On Thursday night, he bowled a ball that would make the tournament reel and get the selectors interested, if they weren’t already.
A nip-backer at high pace whooshed past Kohli’s inside edge to splay his stumps. It was Kohli’s first IPL duck since 2023. This left RCB 9 for 2 after they had lost Jacob Bethell cheaply for a fourth game on the trot.
Between finishing his second over and returning for his third, the 11th of RCB’s chase, Prince may have felt a sense of deja vu. Three weeks ago, he finished with 2 for 25 off his full quota in an innings where LSG conceded 254 against Punjab Kings. Here, Patidar threatened an incredible jailbreak as he tore into Mayank Yadav and Digvesh Rathi to pummel a 26-ball half-century.
Patidar was particularly ferocious against Rathi, hitting him for 23 off six deliveries. After some early trouble against Mayank’s high-pace, he returned the favour by nonchalantly whipping and pulling him for sixes. From 60 for 2 in seven overs, RCB ransacked 44 off the next three when Rishabh Pant summoned Prince for a third.
He began by dismissing Padikkal caught and bowled, having deceived him with a slower ball that stuck into the surface. Three balls later, he sent a ripper of a bouncer that had the woefully out-of-form Jitesh top-edge a pull to Pant. Prince now had figures of 3 for 21.
In only his second game of the season, Shahbaz Ahmed made a compelling case to start in the line-up for the rest of LSG’s campaign. He had Patidar in his first over, followed by David for a 17-ball 40 in his third, just when RCB looked like they were looking to pull off a heist. The equation came down to 33 off 12 when Krunal Pandya, promoted ahead of Romario Shepherd, hit Mohammed Shami for back-to-back sixes. With 20 needed off 6, Rathi held his nerve and conceded just one boundary as LSG won by nine runs to arrest a six-match losing streak.
Injuries forced a series of changes for LSG. Amidst a revolving door of openers – this was their fifth new pairing – Marsh has been a constant through the ten games. Thursday’s was only his second fifty-plus score of the season. He made a half-century off 20 balls, and a century off 49 balls – the fastest yet for LSG since their inception – to set the game up.
Where Marsh flew, his new opening partner Arshin Kulkarni struggled. LSG were 95 for 0 in nine overs when rain briefly stopped play. Marsh’s onslaught against his Australia mate Josh Hazlewood – lofted through the line for two sixes in his very first over – was particularly intriguing during that passage. Kulkarni went into the break amid chatter of being retired out, but he returned and fell second ball after the resumption when he hit Krunal straight to cover for 17 off 23.
Marsh’s battle against Hazlewood may have been box office, but his attack against the others wasn’t any less thrilling. He pounced on anything short from the spinners – Suyash Sharma and Krunal. Ninety of his 111 came off boundaries, and he galloped to the landmark when he hit Shepherd for three fours in his only over.
Pant then ensured the perfect finish with a cameo 32 off 10, with the last three balls of the innings, from Rasikh Dar, getting taken apart for 4, 4, 6. LSG hit 64 off their last five, which eventually made a massive difference to the end result.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 209 for 3 in 19 overs (Mitchell Marsh 111, Arshin Kulkarni 17, Nicholas Pooran 38, Rishabh Pant 32*; Josh Hazlewood 1-49, Krunal Pandya 1-31, Rasikh Salam 1-53) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 203 for 6 in 19 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 34, Rajat Patidar 61, Tim David 40, Krunal Pandya 28*, Romario Shepherd 23*; Mohammed Shami 1-33, Prince Yadav 3-33, Shahbaz Ahmed 2-33) by nine runs
[Cricinfo]
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