Lahiru Kumara
Personal information
Full name
Chandradasa Brahammana Ralalage Lahiru Sudesh Kumara
Born (1997-02-13) 13 February 1997 (age 26)
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 139)29 October 2016 v Zimbabwe
Last Test17 March 2023 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 178)4 February 2017 v South Africa
Last ODI16 October 2023 v Australia
T20I debut (cap 78)11 January 2019 v New Zealand
Last T20I8 April 2023 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2016-presentNondescripts
2020Dambulla Viiking
2021Kandy Warriors
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 24 17 25 44
Runs scored 56 26 10 268
Batting average 3.29 5.20 3.33 8.12
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 10 9 4 47
Balls bowled 4,265 746 521 6,961
Wickets 70 20 30 128
Bowling average 38.48 43.90 23.90 33.52
5 wickets in innings 1 0 0 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 6/122 2/26 3/7 6/122
Catches/stumpings 5/0 3/0 2/– 10/–
Source: Cricinfo, 14 April 2023

Chandradasa Brahammana Ralalage Lahiru Sudesh Kumara, commonly as Lahiru Kumara (born 13 February 1997), is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays for the Sri Lanka national cricket team in all three formats of the game.[1] He was selected to the international squad at the age of 19,[2] due to his fast bowling capabilities of 140+kmp/h and excellent performances in the Under-19 team.[3]

Domestic career

Kumara made his first-class debut for Sri Lanka A against West Indies A on 4 October 2016.[4] He made his Twenty20 debut for Nondescripts Cricket Club in the 2017–18 SLC Twenty20 Tournament on 24 February 2018.[5]

In March 2018, Kumara was named in Kandy's squad for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament.[6][7] The following month, he was also named in Kandy's squad for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.[8]

In August 2018, Kumara was named in Galle's squad the 2018 SLC T20 League.[9] In October 2020, he was drafted by the Dambulla Viiking for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.[10] In August 2021, he was named in the SLC Greens team for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League tournament.[11] In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Kandy Warriors following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.[12]

Under 19s World Cup

Prior to his debut, Kumara was part of Sri Lanka's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[13] He guided the Sri Lanka U-19s team through to the semi-final along with pacer Asitha Fernando to win the match by six wickets.

International career

Kumara was selected for Sri Lanka's Test squad for their tour of Zimbabwe in October 2016.[14] He made his Test debut for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe on 29 October 2016.[15] He took his maiden Test wicket by dismissing Peter Moor.

Kumara was selected in Sri Lanka's One Day International (ODI) team for Tri-Series in Zimbabwe, with West Indies being the third team.[16]

Kumara was called up for the Test series against South Africa in 2016–17. He played in the second Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, taking his maiden Test five-wicket haul.[17] His figures of 6 for 122 are the best bowling figures by a Sri Lankan pacer in South Africa and also the second best overall in South Africa.[18][19]

In January 2017, Kumara was added to Sri Lanka's ODI squad for their series against South Africa.[20] He made his ODI debut against South Africa on 4 February 2017 at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. He scored 5 runs in the match and took his first ODI wicket by dismissing Quinton de Kock for 8 runs.[21]

In May 2018, Kumara was one of 33 cricketers to be awarded a national contract by Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of the 2018–19 season.[22][23] In August 2018, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the one-off Twenty20 International (T20I) match against South Africa, but he did not play.[24]

In November 2018, Kumara was removed from Sri Lanka's Test squad for their series against England due to disciplinary reasons.[25]

In January 2019, Kumara was named in Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the one-off T20I against New Zealand.[26] He made his T20I debut in that match against New Zealand on 11 January 2019.[27] Later the same month, Kumara sustained a hamstring injury on day two of the first Test in Brisbane against Australia. He was then ruled out of the second Test against Australia in Canberra and the tour of South Africa.[28]

In September 2021, Kumara was named as one of four reserve players in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[29] But later in October 2021, he alongside three other cricketers were added to Sri Lanka's main 15 man squad.[30] He made his Twenty20 World Cup debut against Namibia on 18 October 2021, taking 2 wickets in the match and finishing the match with the figures of 2-9 from 3.3 overs.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Lahiru Kumara". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Kumara's youthful energy turns heads". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. ^ "SL bowling coach Ramanayake enthused by Kumara's progress". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  4. ^ "West Indies A tour of Sri Lanka, 1st unofficial Test: Sri Lanka A v West Indies A at Colombo (RPS), Oct 4–7, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Group C, SLC Twenty-20 Tournament at Colombo, Feb 24 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Cricket: Mixed opinions on Provincial tournament". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 26 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. ^ "All you need to know about the SL Super Provincial Tournament". Daily Sports. 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  8. ^ "SLC Super Provincial 50 over tournament squads and fixtures". The Papare. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  9. ^ "SLC T20 League 2018 squads finalized". The Papare. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi among big names taken at LPL draft". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket announce Invitational T20 squads and schedule". The Papare. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews miss out on LPL drafts". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  13. ^ "SL include Charana Nanayakkara in U-19 World Cup squad". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Sri Lanka's teenage fast bowler Lahiru Kumara bags Test spot". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe, 1st Test: Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Harare, Oct 29 – Nov 2, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Tharanga named SL captain for tri-series". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Kumara, Lakmal a glimmer amid catalogue of pain". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Sri Lanka tour of South Africa, 2nd Test: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Cape Town, Jan 2–6, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Lahiru Kumara claims maiden 5-wicket haul for Sri Lanka". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Kumara, Sanjaya, Vandersay added to SL ODI squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Sri Lanka tour of South Africa, 3rd ODI: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg, Feb 4, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Sri Lanka assign 33 national contracts with pay hike". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Sri Lankan players to receive pay hike". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Malinga snubbed for one-off T20I". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  25. ^ "Lahiru Kumara axed from Sri Lanka squad for breaking team curfew". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Malinga to lead ODI and T20I squads in New Zealand". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  27. ^ "Only T20I (N), Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand at Auckland, Jan 11 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  28. ^ "Lahiru Kumara ruled out of Canberra Test, South Africa tour". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  29. ^ "Theekshana, Jayawickrema make the cut as Sri Lanka announce T20 World Cup squad". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  30. ^ "T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka add Dananjaya, Kumara, Binura and Nissanka to squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Full Scorecard of Namibia vs Sri Lanka 4th Match, First Round Group A 2021/22 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

External links

Sri Lanka squad – 2023 Cricket World Cup
Galle Titans – current squad
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