The Tamil Tigers of Sri Lankan cricket

Vinothen John

John made his Test debut in the same match as Jeganathan but, unlike the latter, had a relatively more successful career. His Test career as a bustling medium-pacer was limited to 6 matches but he took 28 wickets including two five wicket hauls against New Zealand. Like Jeganathan, John made a comeback in ODIs during the ’87 World Cup and similarly faded into oblivion after taking only one wicket in five outings.

Mario Villavarayan

A talented fast-medium bowler, Villavarayan remained on the fringes of national selection and as a consistent member of the A team for the greater part of his career. He was picked in the squad to tour England in 1998 although he never got a chance to play. He did play for Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Games that year which were not recognised officially. He retired prematurely at the age of 31 to obtain a degree in Exercise Science and now is in charge of training the Sri Lankan national, A and Development squads.

Russel Arnold

Although the nickname Rusty is commonly associated with the first name Russel, for Arnold it signified the way he batted – not necessarily pretty but tough and pretty. An average of 28.01 after 44 Tests over a span of seven years suggests that Arnold found the going difficult in Test cricket but in limited overs cricket he was the Sri Lankan equivalent of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Arnold shared most of the qualities which others of his ilk like Michael Bevan have – a calm and cool composition and a high degree of unselfishness. Apart from dragging Sri Lanka out of many unsavoury situations especially while batting second, Arnold was good enough to take more than 50 international wickets and had a safe pair of hands. A like-for-like replacement in Tillekaratne Dilshan shaved off a couple of years from his international career which ended with the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. Nowadays he is a popular television commentator and the brain behind the successful “Ask Rusty” iPhone app.

Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran

One of the rare international cricketers whose surname is probably longer than their career, medium pacer Jayaprakashdaran played a solitary match against India in the 2005 Indian Oil Cup at Dambulla. He bowled six tidy overs for 21 taking the wicket of Virender Sehwag in the process but that was apparently not enough to grant him a second try. At 29, a second coming is not ruled out but it seems bleak considering the fact that he has played a single first class match since 16^th March 2012.

Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka’s current and youngest Test captain at 25, Mathews was groomed for the honour for quite some time back. With his robust batting, nagging accuracy with the ball and athletic fielding, Mathews is the all-rounder Sri Lanka have been searching for a long time. So much so that his unavailability for the World Cup final forced three changes in the squad. Like Arnold, Mathews is solid at number 6 in ODIs having played a couple of match-winning knocks from that position. A single Test match century does not suggest much about his batting prowess in Tests but an average of over 40 suggests potential. The Sri Lankan selectors see Mathews as the fulcrum for the future national squads.

Muttiah Muralitharan

What do you write about a man who is the highest wicket taker in Tests and ODIs and has divided the world into two halves with his bowling arm? Call him a chucker, call him controversial but there is no denying that Muttiah Muralitharan is the biggest thing to happen to Sri Lankan cricket ever. Talking about Murali would take an entire article by itself – for now one can appreciate his wizardry by taking a look at this.

Pradeep Mathew

The greatest cricketer ever. At least the greatest cricketer not to given his fair share of dues. To know why I say so, you should read this.