Dilhara Fernando

For someone who thrilled everyone with raw pace when he first came on in 2000-01, his career has not gone far. After a five-fer in only his second Test match, against South Africa, he was seen as someone who could take considerable burden off Chaminda Vaas but it was never to be. Injuries are the bane of a fast bowler and Dilhara Fernando was no different. Having put considerable pressure on his body continuously, his back gave way and he suffered two stress fractures within a year and made him miss a considerable amount of cricket. He returned in 2005 but suffered another injury forcing him to sit out of more games.

He finally made a comeback to the SL ODI squad in the 2007 World Cup. He was an integral part of the team that helped Sri Lanka reach the final in that edition. In the latter part of 2007 he sliced through the England batting on a flat Colombo pitch and picked up 6 wickets to help Sri Lanka pummel England in an ODI. That turned out to be his peak for he slipped soon after and with the emergence of Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara, he was no longer a first choice pacer in the Sri Lankan team. He failed to make an impact in England in 2011 where he was asked to lead the young Sri Lankan pace attack. He worked hard on his fitness though to seal his berth for the 2011 World Cup.

Then, he showed signs of discipline in a fine spell against South Africa at Centurion at the close of the year but the recurrence of injuries coupled with vast bouts of waywardness pushed him to the back seat. He earned a recall in June 2012 for the second Test against Pakistan at home as a replacement for the injured Chanaka Welegedara. He was handed an opportunity in the next Test at Pallekele but could not warrant a permanent slot in the team with Kulasekara and Thisara dwarfing his decent efforts.

Typical of a Sri Lankan bowler, he developed a new way of delivering the slower one. His method is to release it with a split finger grip. It makes it more difficult for the batsman to decipher it and has been replicated by many bowlers across the world. He also found a lot of praise in the English media for coming out in the open about his concerns regarding some shady characters interacting with the team. He immediately reported it to his then captain, Sangakkara, and gained a lot of respect for the same. He is fourth in the list of highest wicket takers in ODIs but continues to be Sri Lankan bowling's ultimate enigma.

As good a match winner Dilhara is, he is very much like a death wish or a gasoline tanker. One day he can hustle batsmen with pace, dupe them with his variations, while spraying the ball all around the shop the very next day.

He was hired by IPL Big Daddies, Mumbai Indians, for four seasons, after which he starred in Uva Next's title winning campaign in the inaugural edition of the SLPL.

By Ganesh Chandrasekaran and Deivarayan Muthu