[abherath]

It is a known fact that several international stars broke into the international limelight in a series with Bangladesh. The latest addition to this list is young Upul Tharanga of Sri Lanka.

This player, who shows every sign of a future Sanath Jayasuriya, has played well for Sri Lankan junior teams and the A team. However, given an opportunity in the recent tri-series with India and the West indies, he failed to impress. The selectors persisted with him for the Bangladeshi tour, which has finally paid off.

Interestingly, the entry of this player into the Sri Lankan ODI squad resulted in his uncle, Saman Jayantha, also a hard-hitting batsman, being dislodged. There will not be too many instances of a nephew edging out his own uncle like this !

When the tsunami hit Sri Lanka on 26th December last year, Upul's house was completely washed away into the sea. His parents were lucky to escape. Upul, who was in Colombo at the time playing Premier League cricket, was forced to live in a small room in the pavilion at the Nodescripts Cricket Club which he represents. Players like Sangakkara lent him a hand to recover from that tragedy at least to some extent. However, that setback did not stop Upul's progress.

With his success in the ODI series with Bangladesh, Upul's career is poised to take off, with a lot of money and sponsorship flowing in. This humble lad from the deep south of Sri Lanka (home to Sanath Jayasuriya too !) deserves every cent of it.

I am sure there will be thousands of Bangladeshis who would watch the progress of this player eagerly, happy that their country has had some part in his fortunes.


Edited on, September 5, 2005, 11:27 AM GMT, by abherath.

Edited on, September 5, 2005, 12:08 PM GMT, by abherath.