Expect bigger things from Thisara Perera

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When Thisara Perera first emerged at the international stage – almost a decade ago – there was quite a bit of excitement and optimism. Of all places, he debuted at Eden Gardens. In front of 110,000 screaming Indian fans, he left an inedible mark, smashing 31 off just 14 deliveries.

For some reason, captain Kumar Sangakkara threw the new ball to Thisara ahead of Suranga Lakmal and Lasith Malinga. It perhaps was Sanga’s own way of giving confidence to a young player. This was no mean batting line-up with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar as the openers. On a belter, Thisara bowled superbly with good pace but little luck. There was quite a bit of excitement. A new star was born.

However, he couldn’t convert the early promise into big performances. There was the odd spark but consistency was lacking.

In this current series against South Africa, however, he has been Sri Lanka’s most reliable player statistically. At the time of writing, after four ODIs against the Proteas, Thisara averages 45 with the bat and 20 with the ball, a remarkable achievement given his career stats where he averages 19 with the bat and 30 with the ball.

This is no flash in the pan. Make no mistake. Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha has identified Thisara has one of the impact players in the side and the work the coach has put in with him is tremendous.

Predominantly an on-side player, Thisara has improved his off-side play in recent times. He cuts powerfully and drives with tremendous force. Teams these days are content with their all-rounder being able to bowl six to seven overs unless he is a Mitchell Marsh. Can Thisara emulate Marsh?

The ICC rankings for all-rounders is a good yardstick to gauge how good an all-rounder is. Currently, Thisara doesn’t feature among the top 20 all-rounders. But all that is set to change.

These changes don’t happen overnight but after careful thought, planning and of course practice. For several years Thisara had not played First Class cricket, Hathurusingha convinced him to play First Class cricket this season in a bid to improve his stock delivery. Since then Thisara’s bowling has been a revelation. When conditions are to his liking as it was in Pallekele during the rain affected fourth ODI, he can be lethal. Thisara has so far taken seven wickets in the series and only Akila Dananjaya has taken more wickets than him.

It’s not just his batting and bowling skills that have improved, but his overall approach to the game. In Pallekele in the fourth ODI, when Sri Lanka were reduced to 195 for six, Thisara faced his biggest challenge. At the end of it he came out with flying colours having helped the team to post a commanding 306 in 39 overs. The 109 run stand between him and Dasun Shanaka for the seventh wicket is a new record in ODIs between South Africa and Sri Lanka.

He should be commended for guiding Shanaka during the partnership assessing the situation and the conditions. The plan was simply to hit straight in the first few overs and once they set the eye in to cash in. Cash in they did with some audacious stroke play with Shanaka scooping Junior Dala for a six on his way to a maiden half-century.

It is said that modern day coaching is all about how you handle players. Hathurusingha is a very good man manager. Before he arrived Thisara looked jaded. But now he seems to be enthusiastic and eager to learn.

Among the current squad of Sri Lankan players, only Upul Tharanga (12) has won more Man of the Match awards than Thisara (11). He can always throw in the odd spectacular performance when he is in the mood like when he took a five-wicket haul against the Aussies at the MCG in 2010 or when he smashed 69 off 44 balls to chase down a stiff target in Kimberly against the Proteas. When he does it consistently that is bad news for oppositions.

Last year around this time people were making fun of Thisara for that dropped catch of Sarfraz Ahmed, which effectively knocked Sri Lanka out of the Champions Trophy. The Pakistan captain himself was twisting the knife when asked about the dropped catch saying, ‘I will remember it for the rest of my life and Thisara will remember it for the rest of his life.’

Life has come a full circle since Thisara’s lowest point. He was appointed captain in October last year but it as an efficient all-rounder that he is destined to greatness. You sense that the day he is going to create a massive impact is not far away.