A heavy hush blanketed the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. The sun was beating down on a typical Colombo morning as Jayan Kaushal Silva, the run machine of SSC, walked to the wicket. They were 3 down for 35 runs.
SSC were chasing a target of 263 runs for a first innings win. The situation commanded an innings of substance and Kaushal Silva, as countless times before, delivered with authority.
SSC riding on the wave of that innings went on to become the champions of the Sri Lanka Cricket Inter-Club Premier League tournament beating Moors Sports Club in the final. The win capped off a fruitful season for SSC together with being the runners-up in the Inter-Club Limited over tournament.
Kaushal Silva is a treat to watch when in his flow, his fluency is matched by a select few. With his characteristic grace he would pierce through the field with a lazy elegance; the ball is feathered, not bludgeoned, caressed not carved. He is the sort of batsman who would make the spectators forget about the scorecard when he is in full swing. Throughout his school cricket days and all seven of his club cricket seasons for SSC he has batted with this authority and elegance.
Impeccable Season
“It was a great achievement; we won it after 5 years.” a beaming Silva told us. SSC were desperate to win the Premier League tournament with an outright win. According to Kaushal this was his and the teams main goal. It was on the verge of crashing until he produced, “the best inning I played. It was the final and also a pressure situation as we were 8 down for 163.” SSC still needed another 100 runs to win on first inning. The circumstances needed a calm head with skill and who better than the diminutive wicket keeper. He gave his side a 62 run lead with a felicitous 240 ball 171.
The task at hand was not without support and Kaushal was involved in a century stand with Dhammika Prasad and a half century partnership with Kasun Madushanka for the final two wickets. He was in high praise of the two tail enders. “Dhammika and Kasun played brilliantly. I am really pleased with their batting performances, without them we wouldn’t have been able to reach the target.” He demonstrated his maturity and the ability not only to score big runs but also his skill of getting the best out of his partners. “We complimented each other every 5 runs and I trusted them with their batting abilities.” And in the 2nd innings needing 263 to win in 80 overs Kaushal again delivered the goods with an aggressive 88. His side capitalized on it and won the match by six wickets.
Kaushal Silva was in prime form throughout and the 2012/2013 season which according him was, “undoubtedly the best season.” During the season he became the first player ever to reach the 1000 run mark in the Premier League tournament. With 5 centuries and 3 half centuries he scored 1,073 runs with an impressive average of 89.41 and a strike rate of 71.10. Converting 5 of his 8 fifty plus scores into triple figures speaks volumes of his character. And in the limited overs tournament with 380 runs he was the equal highest run getter with Niroshan Dickwella, at an average of 54,28 and a strike rate of 80.
Overall in his seven first-class seasons he has accumulated 7809 at an average of 47.61 including 23 hundreds and 33 fifties. In Twenty20 at an average of 27.46 he has scored 357 runs with a strike rate of 114.79. He captained the SSC team in 2009 and 2010 which included Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera and Avishka Gunawardena. With his prolific form he has become one of the most feared batsman in domestic cricket not for his brutality but for his sheer hunger to score big runs whenever he steps on to bat.
Born to play Cricket
“My father is a cricket coach. From my young days he used to take me to his coaching school and do drills and stuff like that. From the beginning I’ve been attached to cricket.”Kaushal talked about his strong cricketing foundation. From Panadura Sri Sumangala College he joined S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia at the age of 10 and went on to captain the U13, U15, U17 sides. In spite of his size he was soon demonstrating that he possessed an exceptional talent. Like many small men, he learned to cut and hook proficiently. He represented the College 1st XI team in 4 Battle of the Blues and captained the 125th Battle of the Blues. He was in the victorious side in 2005- his final year, where he also scored 1000 plus runs during the season.
That Innings
That greatness was calling out for him could be gauged from an early age, “I represented Sri Lanka U17 and U19 for 4 years and played in the U19 World Cup side in 2004 and lost to India in the quarter finals.” He talked about his first steps in representing Sri Lanka.“One of my best innings came against England Academy where I scored 112 runs …” He says with a glint in his eye, his mind meandering back to his days at junior cricket.This was against an attack which boasted of James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan and Monty Panesar.
Cricket at S.Thomas’ today
Even with his busy schedule he still follows the school cricket season, especially his former College.“I do go and have a chat with boys, give some tips to the batsman and the wicketkeepers.”When asked about the current state of cricket at S.Thomas’ he wascritical of the current players, “Most of our players nowadays want to just play a Big match get colours and leave. It should not be like that. You need to challenge yourself, have the passion and have the eagerness to play at a higher level” He believes that the new coach, Dinesh Kumarasinghe who has coached two Big Match winning sides in the late 90’ will bring much needed passion and the hunger to win games.
Bleak start to Tests
Kaushal was drafted into the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team in 2006 and since then he has been a regular member of the side. He then went on to captain the side in 2011 in the tours of Australia and England. In Australia he scored a 150 and 89 against the England Lions. Former Sri Lanka ‘A’ coach Chandika Hathurusinghe according to Kaushal was instrumental in bringing the best of his abilities,“I improved a lot in many different areas during his time and most importantly my mental strength.” With the consistence performances Kaushal was included into the Test side with great expectations. He played two tests against Pakistan in UAE and a solitary test against South Africa in South Africa. He was unable to perform to his full potential in all 6 innings.“I guess luck also needs to be on your side and in those 6 innings it was not with me,” he reminisces, pauses and just shrugs. Life goes on. It’s merely a reminder that life works in ways no mortal can understand. The subtle shifts and undercurrents of the daily grind that make us the men we are, hinge on changes so minute they’d be invisible to all but the practiced eye.
Road to Redemption
Not to be demotivated, soon after losing his position in the Sri Lankan side Kaushal planned his redemption the only way he knows best. To be the run machine. “Nowadays competition has risen to a certain level that you need to have a strike rate over 80 in both limited overs and the three day game. I have improved in that aspect and the statistics speak for themselves. I have performed consistently throughout the last few seasons and I believe that I have done enough to earn a call-up in to the national side as a specialist batsman.”
“The best athletes are those who truly enjoy what they are doing and display a tremendous amount of work ethic. They continue to persevere in spite of setbacks and never lost sight of their ultimate goal.” – Dianne Holum.
