Oshada Fernando

It's not often that an Asian batsman plays a matchwinning Test innings in his debut series, especially when it's outside the sub-continent. But Oshada Fernando did just that, as he produced a class-laden fifty to guide Sri Lanka to a series miraclous whitewash against South Africa in the latter's den. One of Oshada's highlights as a batsman is the extra second that he seems to have while facing fast bowling. He is barely fazed by pace and has an attractive repertoire of shots, particularly off the back foot.

For someone who made his domestic debut in 2011, Oshada had to wait a long time before he made his debut on the 2019 tour of South Africa. Having gathered truckload of experience in domestic cricket, Oshada finally seems ready to grasp international cricket. Buoyed by his performances on that Test tour, he did get picked in white-ball cricket but hasn't made mark as yet. Not surprising, given that he seems more of a potential Test batsman than a limited-overs product.

A stylish right-handed top-order batsman who has come up the hard grind of domestic cricket, Oshada Fernando received instant fame in the Sri Lankan Test cap when he struck a memorable unbeaten half-century in only his second match against a tough South African attack to help his country become the first Asian side in history to win a Test series in the rainbow nation in 2019. 

He made his First Class debut back in 2011 for Colts Cricket Club, aged 18, and then spent nearly seven years in and out of the side with middling performances. His major claim to success was the 2018-19 season, when he emerged as the leading run-scorer with 1181 runs in nine matches, a feat that included six centuries, in the Premier League Tournament. His form in that season transcended formats, as he came up with good performances even in the Super Four Provincial Tournament and in the SLC Twenty20 Tournament. 

A Test cap duly followed in March 2019, and he soon made it to the ODI and the T20I squad on the tour to Pakistan where most of the senior players pulled out citing security worries. He played a key role in blanking the Pakistanis (the then number one side in the world) 3-0, with a Man-of-the-Match winning knock of 78 - also the highest score by a Sri Lankan batsman on debut. 

With Sri Lankan cricket going through a churn at the moment and the top-order rather uncertain, Fernando, with his experience in domestic cricket behind him, could play a key role in bringing back some stability. 

Written byVineet Anantharaman and Hariprasad Sadanandan