Asitha Fernando

Looks can be deceptive and Asitha Fernando used that to his advantage when he lead the bowling charts in the under-19 World Cup for Sri Lanka in 2016. He picked up 11 wickets from 6 games at an average of 16.45 to take Sri Lanka till the semis. His four-fer against eventual finalists India was perhaps his best spell.

A smooth run-up to the crease coupled with an action that helps him to skid the ball on to the batsman, slightly quicker than expected, makes him a potent force.

A national call up was never too far and he was picked for the Test series against the Aussies in 2016 but he never featured in any of the games. He finally made his debut for Sri Lanka but it was an unfortunate game which was marred by rain. Sri Lanka went on to lose that game by D/L method and Fernando was also taken for 22 in his 2 overs. Post that he was again picked for a couple of T20Is ahead of the Nidahas Trophy but again only warmed the benches.

Off the field, Fernando made news when he gifted a pair of his shoes to a net bowler from Jamaica while he was touring the Caribbean as a part of the Sri Lanka A team.

by Kumar Abhisekh Das