Promising right Arm fast bowler, Rangi Dilhara Fernando, has had a fine start to the season for the Sinhalese Sports Club. In the first week of the Premier League Limited overs tournament he gave the national selectors a reminder of his exciting ability with eight wickets in two games.
The affable 21-year-old fast bowler, who is a product of De Mazenod College, Kandana, forced his way into the national side for Pakistan in the recent Centenary Test Match at the Sinhalese Sports Club. His selection followed an impressive series against Zimababwe ‘A.’
He captured two wickets in the match and bowled adequately without ever really catching the eye. However, it was nevertheless a surprise when he was subsequently dropped for the second test match. Fernando, though he was disappointed to have been dropped, remains philosophical: "The opportunity to play for Sri Lanka wasn’t expected. However, I wanted to do well, and I think my efforts were a success."
Fernando has the classic fast bowlers build. He stands 6.2 feet tall with broad muscular shoulders and wide hips. He looks a natural, but actually only started playing the game when he was 16 years old. Until that time he had concentrated on basketball.
Two years later he was selected for a Board XI one-day game versus the touring India side. It was an opportunity he will not easily forget, having taken the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.
"The wicket of Tendulkar, who I bowled, was a real inspiration for me at that time of my career and gave me a lot of confidence. For the first time I believed that I might be able to go a long way.”
Fernando’s bowling action is simple but powerful. He bowls from a straight run and with an open chest. When he arrives at the crease he gathers himself before unleashing his slingy arm action. The result is raw pace, steep bounce and movement into the batsmen. On his day he is the quickest bowler in Sri Lanka.
His bowling philosophy is also simple: "When I bowl I just look bowl on the spot. Bowling at the stumps has been successful for me so far and a large percentage of my wickets are clean bowled.”
Fernando is no mug with the bat either. However, he has concentrated on his bowling in recent times to get into the side. He now plans to work hard on this area of his game in the coming season.
Arjuna Ranatunga, the man who also nurtured Nuwan Zoysa in his early years, is credited with identifying Fernando in a school match. Impressed with the boys natural ability, he wasted no time in summoning him to the Sinhalese Sports Club for practices.
The challenge now ahead of him is to break back into the national side. With his natural pace it is likely that he will tour South Africa where he will be a handful on the hard bouncy pitches. He himself is making no predictions, but is nevertheless intent on making his bowling do the talking.
© CricInfo
| Teams | Sri Lanka. |
| Players/Umpires | Dilhara Fernando. |
| Season | Sri Lankan Domestic Season |
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