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A Quote From a Legend

17 May 2021

“We have given him (Kusal Janith Perera) a big responsibility. He has to take that responsibility. We have told him what he has to do. It is not a permanent appointment. It is a small trial. We are looking at this team with a view to finding the right combination for the 2023 (50-over) World Cup. We gave the captaincy to Kusal as a first step in that process. We have told him that we are going to give him two tours. He will have to prove that he is capable for the job. There are others who are in the waiting. If he becomes successful, we will go with him. If not, we will opt to have another one. We have enough time. We need to make the right team anyway within this year.”

- Pramodya Wickramasinghe

  [caption id="attachment_136341" align="alignleft" width="267"] Pramodya Wickramasinghe bowling in the historic 1998 one-off Test against England at the Oval, England. Sri Lanka won the match by 10 wickets[/caption]

Gallage Pramodya Wickramasinghe was born on 14 August 1971 in Matara. The right-arm fast bowler was a key member of the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lanka team. He was educated at the prestigious Rahula College, Matara before playing club cricket for the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC). Gentle in pace but great in accuracy, Wickramasinghe became internationally known after the 1989 Youth Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

In November 1991, he became the first bowler to take all ten wickets in a single innings of a domestic match, finishing 10/41 against Kalutara Physical Cultural Circle (KPCC).

He represented Sri Lanka in the 1992, 1996, and 1999 World Cup tournaments playing as the main strike bowler, often alongside Chaminda Vaas. Though playing steadily until 2000, “Pramo” found himself in need of a shoulder surgery which resulted in an early close to his career.

He later became a national cricket selector and in February this year, was appointed as the Chairman of the new national selection panel which introduced a radical youth policy and appointed dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera as the new ODI Skipper in place of Dimuth Karunaratne. He aired the above views last week on Derana TV in an interview with veteran cricket commentator Roshan Abeysinghe.


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