From school cricket to rattling the stumps in Asia Cup 2023, Dunith Wellalage’s journey is no less than an inspiration for young cricketers who want to create a mark in World Cricket. 20-year-old young lad, Dunith Wellalage grabbed the limelight during the India vs Sri lanka clash of the Super 4 stage in Asia Cup 2023. The swashbuckling spinner did the unexpected as he rattled India’s top & middle order to return with figures of 5-40.
Dunith Wellalage’s five-fer dismantled India’s batting Order
What came as a shocker for all is the fact that Wellalage scalped crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and KL Rahul to register his maiden five-wicket haul for Sri Lanka in ODIs. Came into attack in the 11th over, Wellalage first removed Shubman Gill right on his first delivery followed by Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli to take the World by storm. During his second spell, he added two more crucial wickets in his kitty by dismissing KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya & completed his first fifer in ODI cricket. His stellar show helped Sri Lanka to wrap India’s innings for just 213 runs in 49.1 overs. He didn’t stop there as he went on to capitalize on his bowling attack by producing a stellar show with the bat.
He went on to perform with the willow & ended up scoring an unbeaten 42 off 46 balls. Coming on the crease when Sri Lanka was struggling at 99-6, Wellage’s stunning 63-run stand with Dhanajaya De Silva acted as a savior for the home side. However, after De Silva’s dismissal, he didn’t get the support from the other end with Sri Lanka losing the fixture by 41 runs. Wellage was Sri Lanka’s best performer by producing an all-round show of unbeaten 42 & 5-40 with two catches in his kitty. Though Sri Lanka lost the fixture World Cricket got a gem in the face of Dunith Wellalage.
Wellalage shone in Sri Lanka’s must-win match against Pakistan
The swashbuckling cricketer continued his good form in the Sri lanka vs. Pakistan fixture as well where he added one more prized wicket in his kitty by dismissing Pakistan’s Captain, Babar Azam. The Pakistani Captain was looking set batting at 29 runs until the left-arm spinner came was introduced into the attack in the 16th over. Wellalage tossed up a full delivery at the stumps with Babar bending forward to defend the ball but upon pitching in front of his bat, the ball turned square to beat the outside edge and nestle into the wicket-keeper’s gloves.
Kusal Mendis quickly showed his agility behind the stumps, dislodging the bails when Babar’s foot was in the air. This sent the Captain back to the hut after scoring just 29 runs off 35 balls. The captain’s wicket was a huge blow for the Pakistani clan struggling to post a competitive total on board. Wellalage’s efforts yielded fruits as Sri lanka managed to restrict Pakistan’s innings to just 252 runs. In reply, Sri Lanka held their nerves & chased the target on the third last ball of the 42nd over to book a spot in the finals.
From humble beginnings to Asia Cup heroics, Wellalage’s journey is laced with determination and grit. The prolific cricketer was doing wonders right from his school days by sclaping wickets & scoring runs. His indispensable talent & quench to improve quickly grabbed the attention of selectors who selected him in Sri Lanka’s Junior team.
Dunith Wellalage Family
Born on Janaury 9, 2003 Dunith Wellalage belongs to a humble family. However, Wellalage’s urge to make a career in the sport is natural for the young lad as his father Suranga Wellalage was a cricketer. Suranga was a wicket-keeper batter who played a few fixtures for the Prince of Wales team before changing careers.
Born to a cricket-crazy family & being the successor of his father’s passion for cricket, Dunith Wellalge has fulfilled his father’s dream in the best possible way. His meteoric rise in Intenrational Cricket is a glimpse of Wellalage’s potential to become Sri Lanka’s best player in the coming years.
Dunith Wellalage Early Career Days
Wellalage’s rise through ranks in School cricket
The young boy stepped into the game of Cricket during his school days. Studying at St. Sebastian School, Wellalage turned the heads around as a 13-year-old kid with an impressive showing as a spinner which helped him to earn a place in the U15 team. He led Sebastian’s U15 Division 1 team for three years & helped his school team to recah the finals for two years in 2015 & 2016 consecutively. Though his team ended as runners-up on both occasions, Wellalage was at his absolute best. He won the best bowler of the tournament on both occasions & was also named Sebastian’s School U15 Captain.
He then changed his school & moved to St Joseph’s School in 2017 where he sharpened his bowling skills and groomed as a batter. Notably, cricketing legends Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Thissara Perera are among the school’s illustrious alumni.
“I first saw him in a school match while he was playing for St Sebastian’s. The boy had wonderful timing and was a natural talent. He was very handy with the ball too,”
said Roger Wijesuriya, the former Sri Lankan cricketer.
His biggest achievement for Joseph’s school team came in janaury 2018 when he scored 85 runs against his former school.
Meteoric Rise of Dunith Wellalge in U19 national Team
Wellalage’s consistent performances with both bat and ball grabbed the attention of Selectors who offered him a place in Sri Lanka’s U19 team. It was a golden opportunity for the young lad to showcase his case on the National front & he didn’t let it go.
Dunith was included in Lanka’s U19 team back in 2019 & after one year in October 2021, he was named the Captain of the U19 team. He made his Captaincy debut against Bangladesh & ended the year with a bowling average of 13.26 in Youth ODIs and became the seventh player to score a 50 and pick up a five-for in the same under-19 ODI, achieving the feat against England. Wellalage also led Sri Lanka’s U19 team to the Asia Cup final in 2021 only to lose to India. A turning point came in Dunith Wellalage’s career during the U19 World Cup 2022 where he emerged as a standout performer with his all-round performances.
Wellalage ended as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker by scalping 17 wickets in six fixtures at an average of 13.58 registering two five-fers against biggies Australia & Scotland. He contributed with the willow as well by scoring 52 runs to become the only player with a fifty and a five-wicket haul in the same youth ODI on two occasions.
His list of exemplary performances didn’t stop here as Wellalage went on to score 113 runs against South Africa, becoming the first captain of the Sri Lanka team to make a hundred in the tournament. He ended the U19 World Cup as Sri Lanka’s top run-scorer making 264 runs in 6 innings. In six games, he walked away with the Player of the Match thrice. His dreams got wings when he received his maiden International call-up in July 2022 in the Australia Series.
Dunith Wellage’s Early Impact on the International Front
Wellalage made his International debut against Australia in an ODI & scalped nine wickets with five fixtures at a bowling average of 22.33. His maiden wicket on his debut fixture was Steve Smith who dismissed him with a shorter delivery & went on to take wickets of David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and Marnus Labuschagne (twice) through the course of the series.
Wellage’s heroics in limited overs format helped him to enter Test format where he made his debut against Pakistan in 2022 at Galle. However, since then he has not played any red ball game for his country.
But in the limited overs format, especially in the ODI format, Wellalage is reaching heights of success. One of his standout performances came during Asia Cup 2023 where he has scalped 10 wickets so far with his career-best figures coming against India when he returned with figures of 5-40. He also has three 30-plus scores in nine innings with the bat in the ongoing tournament & is looking ahead to add more accolades to his kitty when Sri lanka faces India in the Asia Cup 2023 finals.
Dunith Wellalage to create history in World Cup 2023
Wellalage’s hunger to continuously improve himself & deliver standout performances for the team has further raised the hopes of SLC naming in their World Cup 2023 Squad. His ability to scalp crucial wickets in dire situations & art of scoring runs in the lower order makes him a perfect combination for Sri Lanka’s main team. The 20-year-old Lankan lad is truly a force to reckon with for Sri Lanka & will look ahead to give tough competition to big names participating in the World Cup 2023.
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