Meet Dunith Wellalage, the 20-year-old prodigy living up to the expectations

If India were aiming for another impressive batting performance after scoring 350+ runs against Pakistan, their plans were ruined by rookie Dunith Wellalage, who removed Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul to record his maiden five-wicket haul in the India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match on Tuesday. After India made a solid start batting first and put up 80 runs for the first wicket, Wellalage brought Sri Lanka back by dismissing Gill, Kohli, and Rohit in a space of six overs. The left-arm spinner would then go on to add the wickets of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to his tally to complete the fifer. Not only that, he was also the star with the batter with Sri Lanka as they suffered a 41-run defeat. Wellalage top-scored with 42 not out off 46 balls. Wellalage’s rise in school cricket Those who know Wellalage would not have been surprised one bit as cricket is in the blood of the 20-year-old, who hails from Moratuwa, the fertile cricket base of Sri Lanka. His father Suranga Wellalage was a wicketkeeper-batter himself and had once appeared in a few matches for the Prince of Wales team before diverting his career. But it was his son’s destiny to climb the ladder and represent the country from age-group to top-flight cricket. “I first saw him in a school match while he was playing for St Sebastian’s. The boy had wonderful timing and was a natural talent. He was very handy with the ball too,” said Roger Wijesuriya, the former Sri Lankan cricketer. Soon, Wellalage shifted his base to St Joseph’s College in Colombo seeking a better, more established cricket facility. The school has an illustrious alumni list that includes Sri Lankan cricketers like Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne and Thissara Perera.

U19 World Cup heroics However, Wellalage first made an impression at a big stage during the U-19 World Cup in the West Indies. That tournament had given the cricketing world several talented kids apart from Wellalage. The likes of Dewald Brevis and Indian youngsters Yash Dhull and Raj Angad Bawa hogged the limelight in that tournament. In that U-19 World Cup, Wellalage emerged as the highest wicket-taker, grabbing 17 wickets from six matches, besides scoring 264 runs with a hundred. Wellalage also became the first Sri Lankan captain to score a hundred in the Under-19 World Cup during that tournament. Senior debut The Sri Lanka senior team debut did not take long as he was given the cap during the first ODI against Australia at Pallekele earlier this June. His maiden international wicket was Steve Smith, no less. At the Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday, Wellalage added some more hefty names to that list. And now the spinner is expected to play a big role for Sri Lanka at the upcoming ODI World Cup. With agency inputs