As Sri Lanka’s new look T20 squad embarks on a three-match T20 series against a second-string South African team on the 20th of January, a relatively unknown name appeared in the 15-man Lankan squad, that of Thikshila De Silva.
An aggressive left-hander by nature, De Silva hails from Rathgama, the same coastal city 12 kms away from Galle town which produced the likes of Lasith Malinga and Tharindu Kaushal. Before flying to South Africa for his maiden national tour, De Silva shared his story exclusively with ThePapare.com.
Fondly nicknamed ‘Sankar’ by his loved ones, Thikshila’s passion for the game grew from a young age when he started playing leather ball cricket at the age of 10. Until the age of 14, De Silva studied and played cricket at Devapathiraja College, Rathgama before moving to Mahinda College, Galle through a scholarship.
“I always had the passion for the game since I was very young and in 2004; I started playing cricket in the U13 level.” he said.
With muscular forearms reminiscent of Sanath Jayasuriya’s, De Silva was a regular member of the Mahinda College first XI team, Galle district team and Southern Province team since the age of 15. He represented his alma mater, Mahinda College for five years before captaining the side in his last season in 2012/13.
“I was in the 30-man preliminary squad for the Sri Lanka U19 team but did not make the final 15 in 2012 because I was restricted from bowling due to a back injury in 2011/12. I scored around 960 runs in my final season at Mahinda College. ” Thikshila went on to say.
Thikshila entered the domestic cricket circuit at Moors Sports Club where he participated in the SLC U23 tournament for two seasons and then played the SLC Emerging Tournament for Galle Cricket Club before shifting to Chilaw Marians Cricket Club in 2014/15.
He recalls the 15-ball fifty he made against Colombo Cricket Club as his best batting performance ever, “I hit about 7 sixes and ended up with 58 off 17 balls, I was hitting the ball perfectly that day.”
He also smashed a run-a-ball 92 against SSC in a recent Premier League match earlier this month and prior to that he performed exceptionally well in couple of national trial matches picking up 4 wickets in a single T20 innings. His exceptional returns in the club circuit got him a place in the Kurunegala Warriors outfit in last year’s SLC Super 4s T20 tournament.
He has an array of strokes, like the reverse-sweep, reverse-paddle in his arsenal and as a bowler Thikshila is a master of bowling fast-yorkers at crunch times. Apart from playing cricket, he loves listening to music, watching movies and driving around the city with his friends back home.
Thikshila has one younger brother and one elder brother who help him in numerous ways and he appreciates the support given by his parents as well, “This is a very good opportunity and I want to thank everyone who helped me in my cricketing journey. I’m so happy to have got this chance to represent my country, I want to give my best shot and make my family, country proud.” Thikshila said in the end.
