Profile
He may be short in stature and may also lack the built of a fast bowler, but Nuwan Kulasekara with his nagging line and length and an ability to swing the ball both ways is a more than capable medium pace bowler.
A softball enthusiast in his growing up years, Kulasekara debuted for Galle Cricket Club in the 2002 season. After a very good first season he was surprisingly picked in Sri Lanka’s ODI squad in 2003. He had an excellent debut against England picking up 2 wickets. But things went downhill from there on and after an unimpressive Test debut against New Zealand in 2005 he was dropped from both Test and ODI squads. His comeback wasn’t a fairy-tale though. Only after a handful of games he was dropped again but with the World Cup around the corner, the selectors gave him another chance and with impressive performances he earned his place in Sri Lanka’s 2007 WC squad. Dropped in the aftermath of the WC, he staged a brilliant comeback, taking 47 wickets in 11 months since April 2008. He has since then matured as a bowler and is a regular in ODI’s. In 2011, he was selected to represent the Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 in place of injured Tim Southee.
Kulasekara is a whole hearted bowler who is forever eager to offer his services whenever the captain needs it. Along with the traditional swing, he can reverse swing the old ball. He however lacks in pace and therefore has to keep a tight line and length. Since his debut, Kulasekara has grown leaps and bounds which are only signs of a good bowler.
Fast Facts
- Nuwan Kulasekara won the best bowler award in the 2002-03 Sri Lankan domestic competition.
- He was the highest wicket-taker in Sri Lanka’s home Test series against Pakistan bagging 17 wickets in three Tests.
Statistics
Show:
| |
Matches |
Innings |
Runs |
NO |
Avg. |
SR |
100's |
50's |
HS |
| Test |
12 |
17 |
262 |
1 |
16.37 |
44.10 |
0 |
1 |
64 |
| ODI |
117 |
77 |
848 |
25 |
16.30 |
79.17 |
0 |
2 |
73 |
| T20 |
15 |
10 |
56 |
2 |
7 |
105.66 |
0 |
0 |
19* |
| IPL |
6 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
- |
166.66 |
0 |
0 |
5* |
| CLT20 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
0 |
18 |
150 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
| |
Matches |
Innings |
Balls |
Runs |
Wickets |
BBI |
BBM |
Avg. |
Econ. |
4w |
5w |
10w |
Extras |
| Test |
12 |
20 |
1678 |
879 |
26 |
4/21 |
/ |
33.80 |
3.14 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
| ODI |
117 |
116 |
5488 |
4280 |
124 |
4/40 |
/ |
34.51 |
4.67 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
95 |
| T20 |
15 |
15 |
329 |
453 |
14 |
3/4 |
/ |
32.35 |
8.26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
| IPL |
6 |
5 |
102 |
120 |
5 |
2/10 |
/ |
24 |
7.05 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| CLT20 |
1 |
1 |
24 |
23 |
1 |
1/23 |
/ |
23 |
5.75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Catches |
Stumpings |
Runouts |
| Test |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| ODI |
29 |
0 |
9 |
| T20 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
| IPL |
4 |
0 |
0 |
Career
Span:
- Test:
- 2005-2010
- ODI:
- 2003-2012
- T20:
- 2008-2011
- IPL:
- 2011-2012
- CLT20:
- 2011-2011
- Test
-
- Debut:
- Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand at McLean Park, Napier - Apr 04, 2005
- Last played:
- Sri Lanka Vs West Indies at R.Premadasa Stadium (Khettarama), Colombo - Nov 23, 2010
- ODI
-
- Debut:
- Sri Lanka Vs England at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri - Nov 18, 2003
- Last played:
- Sri Lanka Vs Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur - Mar 20, 2012
- T20
-
- Debut:
- Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan - Oct 11, 2008
- Last played:
- Sri Lanka Vs Australia at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy - Aug 08, 2011
- IPL
-
- Debut:
- Chennai Super Kings Vs Pune Warriors India at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai - Apr 27, 2011
- Last played:
- Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - Apr 28, 2012
- CLT20
-
- Debut:
- Chennai Super Kings Vs New South Wales at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - Oct 04, 2011
- Last played:
- Chennai Super Kings Vs New South Wales at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - Oct 04, 2011
