Asela Gunaratne

Sri Lanka and all-rounders are fast becoming synonyms. Asela Gunaratne is the latest in the long drawn list to strengthen the claim. In the era post the retirement of Lankan batting legends where the team is undergoing a rebuilding phase, he has impressed one and all with his prowess.

An aggressive middle order batsman with an array of inventive shots in his bag and a handy medium pacer, he grabbed the opportunity opened up in the side with Angelo Mathews' injury for the tour to Zimbabwe in November 2016. His selection was on the back of some consistent performances for Sri Lanka Army Sports Club, his domestic side in the premier league tournaments where he averaged over 50 for three years. Sure enough, his efforts saw him go a notch higher into the ‘A’ side before national duty beckoned.

Once into the national side, he made an instant impact in the longer format with a fifty on debut and followed it up with a century in the next game. He carried on this form into the ODI series against South Africa and sprung to the limelight with a century at number six, becoming the first Sri Lankan to do so. In the T20 series that followed in Australia, he notched up back to back half-centuries to seal the series. It also helped him bag an IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians for the 2017 season.

By - Vineet Anantharaman