Prasanna Jayawardene

Profile

Widely acknowledged as the best in the world for his wicket-keeping abilities, being part of an era where batting abilities have become equally important has seen Prasanna Jayawardene constantly battling for places throughout his career with the likes of Kumar Sangakkara.

Jayawardene, who was adjudged as the best wicket-keeper in the 1998 Under-19 World Cup was also selected as Sri Lanka’s second choice wicket-keeper for the 1998 England tour. He however made his Test debut only against Pakistan in 2000, a match where he could do little as Sri Lanka batted for three days with the last two being washed out due to rain. A week later, he was dropped from the side and with a young, fiercely talented Sangakkara who could make it to the team purely as a batsman taking up the gloves, Jayawardene could only make fleeting appearances and between 2000 and 2006 featured in only 8 tests.

However, with Sangakkara reluctant to don the wicket keeping role in Tests, Jayawardene was offered the position for the 2006 Test series against South Africa and immediately impressed with his natural ability to keep to both pacers and spinners. His quick feat, reflexes and awareness of situations were on full display in the series and the Islanders soon realized they had a born wicket-keeper in their ranks. He continued playing in further Tests and though he did partake in a handful of ODIs, he failed to impress and is now regarded as a Test specialist. Over the years with Test tons against the Bangladesh and India, Jayawardene has also shown steady improvement in his batting but with young sprightly wicket-keepers like Dinesh Chandimal waiting in the ranks, Jayawardene will be well aware that he can’t afford to let his guard down.

Fast Facts

• Prasanna Jayawardene captained Sri Lanka in the 1998 Under-19 World Cup.
• With a highest score of 154, he became the third Sri Lankan wicket keeper batsman to have scored in excess of 150 in a Test innings.

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Career

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