26-year old Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Chathuranga De Silva has been performing superbly with both bat and ball in the ongoing Dhaka Premier Cricket League 2016.
Currently after five rounds of matches, the Moors Sports Club captain representing Victoria Sporting Club in Dhaka is the leading wicket-taker of the entire league capturing 14 scalps from 5 matches at an impressive average of 14.28.
In the game played at Fatullah on the 9th of May, De Silva took a match-winning five-wicket haul for just 36 as Victoria SC defeated Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club comprehensively by 59 runs. In the earlier game against Abahani Limited on 4th May, the former St. Aloysius’ College spinner captured 6 for 35 which is also his best List A bowling performance and scored 25 valuable runs in a losing cause.
Fatullah has always been a memorable ground for Chathuranga as he made his ODI debut in the same ground in 2014 against Pakistan during the victorious Asia Cup campaign. He was also in the World T20 winning squad in 2014 and has thus far has played 6 ODIs and taken 5 wickets but hasn’t gotten the opportunity to don the Sri Lankan jersey since 2014.
De Silva has been a tower of strength for Victoria Sporting Club as he has contributed with the bat stroking 136 runs at 34.00 per game.
In a time when the national selectors are looking for a replacement for Sri Lankan spinner, Rangana Herath in the limited-overs formats, Chathuranga De Silva will be itching to make his comeback into the national squad.
Many Sri Lankan players such as Upul Tharanga, Shehan Jayasuriya, Jeewan Mendis and Dilshan Munaweera have shown their colours in the current Dhaka Premier Cricket League 2016. Jayasuriya playing his first game in the tournament on 9th May performed right away by top-scoring with 63 for Prime Bank and taking 2 scalps.
