চামারা সিলভা

Born on December 14, 1979 in Panadura, Chamara Silva comes from the old school of batting. He was a beneficiary of the youth policy adopted by Siddath Wettimuny in 1999 as he debuted against the visiting Australians in the Aiwa Cup at the tender age of 19. He began promisingly though with a half-century. His batting has drawn comparisons with the great Aravinda de Silva especially his low legged stance.

It was a struggle though for the flamboyant batsman as he struggled to find a permanent place in the Sri Lankan squad. His strong performances at the domestic level finally caught the eyes of the then Sri Lankan coach, Tom Moody.

He was a surprise inclusion for the tour to New Zealand and could not hope for a worse start as he recorded a pair. He showed his class immediately though as he scored 61 and his maiden Test century, an unbeaten 152 in the very next Test match. He followed it up with his maiden ODI century against England just before the 2007 World Cup.

With Russel Arnold, calling it quits, Chamara Silva was identified as an able middle order batsman for Sri Lanka. He extended the good form with 350 runs in the World Cup at a healthy average to help propel Sri Lanka into the finals.

Chamara Silva has not managed to nail in a permanent position in the Sri Lankan squad and played his last Test match in 2008. He was a more of a regular in one day cricket though, representing the island nation in two World Cups. He was also a part of the inaugural IPL season after being bought by the Hyderabad based Deccan Chargers.

However, his sporadic Test performances rubbed off on limited overs cricket, giving the selectors some food for thought. He played 75 ODIs before being dumped. He would have been far better off had he blended flamboyance with calm temperament.

Interesting Fact: Chamara Silva is one amongst 37 batsmen to be dismissed for a pair on their debuts in Test cricket.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy