Sri Lanka is a resourceful country when it comes to cricket with a large number of spinners emerging from all parts of the island sadly only a handful get to go the maximum distance in representing their motherland.
The 29-year old left-arm orthodox spinner, Sohan Boralessa was one of the best in the business but Sri Lanka never had him in national colours. With the completion of the SLC Premier League Tournament 2014/15, Sohan retired from the local domestic cricket and moved to Australia due to various reasons. He took time from his busy schedule all the way from Australia to share his experience as a cricketer exclusively with www.thepapare.com.
How did you start your cricket career?
Well, I started playing cricket for St. Peters College, Bambalapitiya when I was 11 years old where I tried out at trials for the under 13 team under the watchful eyes of Mr. LH Sunil. I did not think I would be left-arm spinner because like all kids I wanted to be a batsman. I was picked to the squad as a batsman and later on I saw an opening for a spinner and since then wanted I started bowling left-arm spin. I always believe, if you love the game so much you can do whatever it wants you to do. It is something which I have always stood by and it is what motivated me. I was able to bat as an opener while playing for CCC, held the position of night watchman for NCC for a couple of years and even been a water boy.
Looking back what do you see as your achievements?
I have played all age groups and was lucky to be part of many champion teams produced by SPC at that time. I played a few years of first XI cricket between 2003/2004. My best personal achievement would be to get all 10 wickets in an innings against Wesley College in 2004, which is a national record for the best bowling figures.
How was your entry into club cricket? What was the support you got from NCC?
I went on to play for Colombo Cricket Club for 5 years which was my first club team. That is where I definitely learnt a lot about how to bowl spin and get accustomed to first class cricket. Later, I moved to SSC for a year and finally I settled down at NCC for 4 years. The support has been tremendous for the last 4 years. Upul Tharanga asked me if I’d like to play for NCC since I have known him since childhood and I thought it would suit me with Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Kapugedara, Farveez Maharoof and Angelo Perera is a dressing room I would settle into easily. It turned out to be the best years of cricket for me where I am sure my mates would agree; we started off as a bunch of cricketers and turned out to become our second family. Sajith Fernando who started coaching at NCC for the last two years got along well with the core group at NCC and his brand of coaching matched well with what we wanted to work on for the best of the team. I never expected my last game at NCC to be emotional but i guess it’s an indication of how well I enjoyed my time at NCC and how well we enjoyed time together.
You are still 29, why did you retire early as you were in the peak of your career?
Sadly things were not moving the way I planned or wanted to happen. It was frustrating at most times when it came down to selections, I have made a decision on the best interest of my family and I believe it will work out for the best. You cannot live in hope thinking one day you will get picked to play for Sri Lanka instead a proper pathway should be shown as an indication at least. That is one area where we lack.
274 first class wickets over 11 years are you happy with what you achieved?
Yes, but I did not play for over 11 years because I had a break of two years due to higher studies and work. Overall, yes because I have played my cricket to the best of my ability and I have given it all. It is been a fun ride, I remember my first wicket was getting Dhammika Prasad stumped, and I have gone onto take a lot of wickets which ultimately helped the team to win which is what I strived for. Apart from my first-class stats, I guess I have a really good one day record where I believe that was my strength. I was the main spinner in two provincial cup wins (Kandurata and Wayamba) and also cup championship for NCC proves my credentials. I am glad to have been part of teams which went onto be dominating sides in domestic cricket. MAS Unichela, the mercantile firm I represented and NCC the club team I represented.
Do you feel unlucky that you were playing in an era where Murali and Herath were in the top of their game?
I am really lucky to have played with the legend Murali. How many would have dreamt to have a spin partner as Murali to bowl from the other end. We were the spin partners while playing for Kandurata back in 2010. We went onto win the tournament and in the final I got 4 wickets for 40 which won the game for us under Kumar Sangakkara’s captaincy. I never got to play with Rangana but always against mainly because we bowled the same stuff. But, yes can’t consider myself unlucky as I played with Murali when he was playing his last season for Sri Lanka. I played along with Rangana and he got his break towards the latter part of his career but achieved great and has made a name for himself. We speak of him now and not so much about missing Murali. I played in the years where Ajantha Mendis brought a new approach to spin bowling and showed his magic in his first years of cricket.
Any memorable bowling performances which stand out in your memory?
Getting all ten wickets while playing for SPC 10-30 against Wesley in 2004, while playing for CCC I got 9 wickets against Moors SC which included Rangana Herath as well. Another big match-winning achievement was taking 4 for 40 against Basnahira Province representing Kandurata in a provincial one day final. Bowling 10 overs for just 7 runs and grabbing 3 wickets while playing for NCC in a club one day game and it is a record for the most economical bowling figures in Sri Lanka.
Will you take a gamble and come out of retirement if the national selectors suddenly call you to represent Sri Lanka?
Yes,the last few days I have dreamt of a call up to come and play. It shows that my desire is still there. I would love to come back and play for Sri Lanka because that is where I have grown up.
What do you suggest SL cricket should do to the existing domestic league in SL?
We need to change into a provincial cricket system where the competition would be tough and standard much higher as a lesser no of teams would play. Currently we have about 14 teams which play and some teams are really making up the numbers. Hope it will reach that soon as I have read Mahela Jayawardena is also involved helping standards of cricket in Sri Lanka and he is one who would push for that system. The biggest challenge which would face him or anyone trying to bring about a change would be the club voting system, which has a control of election or office bearers at SLC. I think the current Mercantile A division tournament is of higher standard than the List A tournament organized by SLC simply because only 6 teams play in the Mercantile tournament.
What are your future plans in Australia?
I am currently playing grade A cricket in Darwin as it runs during April to September. The only place where there is cricket during this time in Australia and later might consider a move to Sydney to further represent teams in cricket. I am working my way into administration part of cricket as well, fingers crossed.
Sri Lanka’s sports watchdog, www.thepapare.com would like to thanks Sohan for his efforts in sharing his experiences and would wish him well in his future endeavors.
