New Delhi. Getting the responsibility of captaining the national team is a matter of pride for any player, but for Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka, this responsibility has also brought a big challenge. Asalanka has been entrusted with the leadership of the T20 and ODI team for Team India’s Sri Lanka Tour. It is believed that this series against India will decide the future of 27-year-old Asalanka as a captain. The Indian team is a big force in world cricket today and is number one in both ODI and T20 formats. After becoming champions in the T20 World Cup, the morale of the Indian players is at its peak, so it will not be easy for the Sri Lankan team and its newly appointed captain to overcome Team India. The first match of the three-match T20 series (India vs Sri Lanka) is to be played on Friday, 26 July.
Unlike the Indian team, the Sri Lankan team is going through a bad phase at the moment. After being eliminated in the first round of the T20 World Cup, the shoulders of the Sri Lankan players are bowed down. Sri Lanka’s performance was also disappointing in the World Cup 2023 (ODI) held in India. Obviously, in this bad phase, captaincy is no less than a ‘throne of thorns’ for Asalanka. However, many Sri Lankan cricket experts believe that if anyone can bring many positive changes in the team’s mentality through captaincy at present, then it is Asalanka. In this case, the support of coach Sanath Jayasuriya can prove to be important for him.
Roy Dias had predicted the future captain many years ago
In just three years of international career, Asalanka has emerged as a reliable white ball batsman for the Sri Lankan team. This aggressive batting cricketer is a good thinker of the game. The important thing is that he remains calm even in difficult situations. He has captained the Sri Lankan youth team in the South Asian Cricket Tournament. Sri Lanka’s legendary batsman Roy Dias had described Asalanka as the future captain of the Sri Lankan team many years ago. In 2016, Sri Lanka Under 19 team won the series in England, then Dias was the head coach. This junior team had players like Pathun Nishanka, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando and Praveen Jayawickrama. When Dias was asked which of the current players can make a special impact in the future, he named Asalanka. Dias had said, ‘Asalanka will prove to be a smart captain. He can also do something that I could never do. Captain Sri Lankan cricket.’ Dias’ words have been proven true.
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Born on 29 June 1997 in Elpitiya, Sri Lanka, Charith Asalanka is a left-handed batsman and also bowls offbreak with his right hand. He is yet to prove himself in Test cricket but he is Sri Lanka’s leading batsman in ODIs and T20Is. The story behind Asalanka, who was a ‘nerd’ till school level, becoming a top-level cricketer is no less interesting.
Charith Aslanka’s mother KA Thanuja told a Sri Lankan newspaper, ‘My son used to go to Ananda Vidyalaya in Elpitiya. After passing the grade 5 scholarship exam, he had enough marks to get admission in Ananda College in Colombo but fate wanted him to become a cricketer.’ The mother further said, ‘My brother Anandajiva was an old student of Ananda College. He wanted Charith to also study in this college in Colombo but look at the law of fate. My brother died suddenly. After this, we got our son admitted to Richmond College in Galle where he started playing cricket and became a famous cricketer of the country by improving his sports skills under the guidance of coaches.’
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Every year religious programs are conducted in the temple on the birthday
Soon Asalanka’s name became famous in cricket. After playing for Sri Lanka at the junior level, he made it to the senior team. Charith Asalanka’s father Vijay is a businessman. He said, ‘When my son decided to make a career in cricket, we gave him full support. Charith is very calm and religious by nature. Perhaps that is why he is successful in cricket.’ Let us tell you, Asalanka organizes a religious ceremony in the temple every year on his birthday. He has continued this even after becoming an international cricketer.
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T20 against England, ODI debut against India
In June 2021, he made his international debut by playing T20 against England at Chester Lee Street but was out on 0. About a month later, on July 25, he started his ODI career against India in Colombo and scored 44 runs in just 26 balls with the help of three fours and three sixes. So far, he has scored 88 runs in 3 Tests. He has 1918 runs in 59 ODIs (average 43.59, three centuries) and 1061 runs in 47 T20s at an average of 25.26 and a strike rate of 126.76.
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Net worth around $5 million
According to media reports, Asalanka’s net worth is around $5 million. He married Kavandika in November 2022. Asalanka and Kusal Mendis are the batsmen who have scored 6 scores of 50 or more runs in the least number of innings for Sri Lanka in ODIs. Both of them have achieved this feat in 15 innings each. Asalanka has played many great innings against Sri Lanka in ODIs and T20s. He was the highest run scorer for Sri Lanka and the sixth overall batsman by scoring 231 runs in 6 matches of the T20 World Cup 2021 at an average of 46.20 and a strike rate of 147.13. In the 9 matches of the World Cup 2023 also, he has proved himself to be the best batsman in both formats by scoring 288 runs (one century) at an average of 36. Expressing confidence in Asalanka’s ability as a batsman and leader, the selectors have chosen Asalanka as the captain of Sri Lanka for the first time. All eyes are on his performance as captain in this series against India.
Tags: IND vs SL, india vs sri lanka, Sri Lanka Cricket Team
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 27, 2024, 07:30 IST