T20 World Cup 2022: “They have similar mannerisms” - Mahela Jayawardene compares Wanindu Hasaranga with Lasith Malinga

Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene feels there are a few similarities between current all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and former fast bowler Lasith Malinga. He pointed out that both are similar in nature and as cricketers as well.

Having made his international debut in 2017, Hasaranga has gone on to establish himself as Sri Lanka’s chief wicket-taker, especially in white-ball formats. The 25-year-old was the leading wicket-taker at last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE with 16 wickets.

Drawing parallels between the young all-rounder and Malinga, Jayawardene said on the ICC Review:

"The way he (Hasaranga) has blossomed … he’s also from down south, quite close to where Lasith was (Galle) and they have similar mannerisms. The way they both came out, they started their careers quietly - you know, sat in the corner of the dressing room - and little by little they grew. The hairstyles change, the tattoos came out and the whole thing.

"It (Hasaranga’s development) is quite similar to how Lasith became who Lasith was, and that’s how I see the way Wanindu has blossomed as a player."

According to Jayawardene, the biggest similarity between Hasaranga and Malinga is their fiercely competitive nature. He stated:

"The most important thing is, once they cross the field, like Lasith, he is a competitor - that’s what I love about him.”

Hasaranga, who can make match-winning contributions with both the bat and ball, presently occupies the No. 3 position in the ICC men’s T20I rankings for bowlers, and the No. 4 slot in the T20I all-rounders' rankings.

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“In the last 12 months, he has shown how mature he is” - Jayawardene hails Hasaranga

Hasaranga was one of the star performers in Sri Lanka’s unexpected Asia Cup 2022 triumph in the UAE. He was the second-leading wicket-taker in the tournament with nine scalps. Significantly, he came up with an outstanding performance in the final against Pakistan, scoring 36 and claiming 3/27.

According to Jayawardene, the leg-spinner has grown as a leader within the team over the last year even though he doesn’t hold any official position. The former Sri Lankan captain opined:

"In the last 12 months, he has shown how mature he is - not just as a bowler but with the bat as well. In tough situations, he has really come and delivered. But as a leader in that group, even if he doesn’t have the title as the vice-captain or the captain or anything like that, but underneath all of that he has become a leader who all the young guys look up to.”

Jayawardene has known Hasaranga since the latter was 19, thanks to former teammate Chaturanga de Silva (Hasaranga’s brother). Sharing his early impressions of the cricketer, he said:

“We always knew that this guy can bowl and bat, but we never knew the quality of bowler he could turn out to be. I mean initially, he didn’t have the accuracy but he always had some X-factor about him, how he went about things. That’s where Sri Lanka invested in him when he was quite young, especially in white-ball cricket.

“He is still young and (there is) a lot of cricket in front of him. So long as he understands what needs to be done and be competitive out there, that’s the most important thing."

In 44 T20Is, Hasaranga has 71 wickets to his name at an average of 14.74 and an economy rate of 6.72. He has also contributed 448 runs at a strike rate of 124.44 with a best of 71.