"The control with which he bowls his various deliveries is impressive, but he's also shown a lot of poise at the big moments, and a tendency to ignore what's going on around him and do what he does."Ī drive to excel has also been apparent. "What's been really good to see is his temperament, for a guy who hasn't played at this level before," Wayamba United and former Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss said. Instead of allowing nerves to frighten him into a defensive approach, he has seemed in complete control, at home even, in the limelight. His focus on his own game has been encouraging too. Each ball has been deliberate, each length has attempted to draw the batsman into a false stroke, though he does occasionally miss his target and overpitch. In each of his spells throughout the SLPL, Dananjaya has resisted trotting out his deliveries for the circus. And the carrom ball last - maybe a tad too short to be truly effective, giving the batsman time to read it off the pitch.īut perhaps the most impressive aspects of his game were not his variations, but the cunning with which he used them. The legbreak next, flighted again and with a slight snap of overspin. The doosra followed, his first ball to cut away from the right-hander. More subtle than most at the point of delivery, but then so was the turn - not that that was any mercy to the three batsmen who have fallen to it in the tournament so far. He began with several stock offspinners, flighted, dipping, and ripping out of the Premadasa clay.
#Akila dananjaya professional#
In his first professional match, for Wayamba United in the SLPL, Dananjaya showcased the tools with which he had so impressed Jayawardene and Ford that they requested he be fast-tracked to the tips of the national team.
What they got in Dananjaya was more than just a competent impostor. Coach Graham Ford and Mahela Jayawardene had been searching for a bowler who could mimic Saeed Ajmal, and his doosra in particular. He had been playing tier-three school cricket for the little-known Mahanama Vidyalaya when he was invited to a Sri Lanka practice session ahead of Pakistan's tour in June. Why would an 18-year-old unknown, who has never played for Sri Lanka at Under-19 level, let alone any first-class or List A cricket, be picked for the national side? As is often the case, the truth was perhaps more far-fetched, and certainly more charming, than fiction.ĭananjaya is the son of a carpenter from Panadura, just south of Colombo. Others still supposed it was a mistake, or an oversight. Others alleged money had passed hands - a favour in exchange for funds for an ailing board. It would not have been the first time, after all. Some accused his family of using political clout to achieve his sudden elevation. When Akila Dananjaya's name appeared in Sri Lanka's provisional squad for the ICC World Twenty20, the rumour mill spun out stories where the media could not.
0 kommentar(er)
