Mahela Jayawardena

Profile

Mahela Jayawardena is regarded as one of the best players of his generation. In spite of his numerous achievements, he remains the most down-to-earth characters of the game and is an idol for the Sri Lankan fans.

Jayawardena captained his school’s Under-13 side, playing at the pivotal number three position. With his wonderful, flowing technique and his penchant for big runs, he quickly became one of the most promising players at school level. He debuted for Sinhalese Sports Club in 1995 and after slamming four centuries in the 1997-98 season, was fast tracked into Sri Lanka’s Test squad. He made an impressive debut against India carving a neat 66-run knock in a game in which Sri Lanka piled a mammoth 952-6. He made his ODI debut in 1998 and scored a fine 74 in only his second game. However his breakthrough innings was a fluent 167 against New Zealand on a Galle pitch so treacherous that Stephen Fleming labelled it as a ‘dung heap.’

Thereafter, Mahela became a regular for Sri Lanka in Tests and ODI’s and has been a consistent performer over the years. An artistic 107 against England at Lord’s and a double hundred against a decent South African attack at Galle were just some of the highlights of his career during this period. In 2006, he was made captain for Sri Lanka’s Bangladesh tour after regular skipper Marvan Atapattu was ruled out with a back injury. He then led a young Sri Lankan side to complete a 5-0 whitewash of England in an ODI series and draw level in the Test series. The fact that it was achieved in England; a country where few Asian countries had succeeded was a testimony to Jayawardena’s leadership qualities. After a brief stint at captaincy that included a berth in the 2007 World Cup final, he stepped down in 2009 with a view to concentrate on his batting. However, the responsibility returned to him in 2011-12 after he took over from Tillakaratne Dilshan. The skipper tried his best to help Sri Lanka win their maiden World Twenty20 title in 2012, but had to settle with the runners-up position. Following the debacle, Jayawardene relinquished his T20I captaincy, while continuing to captain in Tests and ODIs. He finally stepped down in 2013 post the Australia series.

A sweet timer of the ball, Jayawardena is blessed with an immaculate technique and loads of patience. Equally adept of both the front and back foot, he is a fine cutter of the ball and a very good close in fielder. A team man to the core, he is credited for developing many of Sri Lanka’s youngsters into better cricketers. He was bought by the Delhi in the fifth IPL edition after having represented the now-defunct Kochi and Punjab in the previous editions.

Fast Facts

• Mahela Jayawardene became the first Sri Lankan captain to score a triple century in Tests.
• In 2006, he was named by ICC as the ‘Best International Captain of the Year”.

---

---

Career

Span: