A left-handed wicketkeeper batsman coming in to bat at 1st drop… sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But we are not talking about the Legend Kumar Sangakkara, this is the story of 20 year old Minod Bhanuka, the guy who’s making waves in the domestic scene. He sat down with ThePapare.com to tell us a little about his cricketing journey thus far.
Born in 1995, he came into the world just as the cricket craze was reaching fever pitch in the Island. In a lot of ways, you could say that he was born at the ideal time to pursue a dream of becoming a professional sportsman. It’s clear that Minod and his younger brother enjoyed the game from a very young age and his parents fostered this love for the game by providing them with whatever opportunities they could to play, from enrolling him in a cricket academy to moving the entire family so that Minod could be close to home.
“I started playing cricket in grade 4 at an academy in Wennapuwa. I was crazy about the game as a kid – actually I inherited my dad’s love for the game”
Starting off his cricketing career at Joseph Vaz in Wennappuwa, Minod was convinced by one of his coaches to join Maliyadeva College. His parents obliged, willing to do whatever it took to help him achieve his dreams. Despite the promise he showed at a young age, it was not always plain sailing for Minod who describes that period of his life as extremely difficult.
“I faced a lot of difficulties to get where I am today, particularly when moving from Joseph Vaz to Maliyadeva, even after I started playing at Maliyadeva I had a lot of issues but thankfully all those things have worked themselves out now. I was a mess at that time but it was my parents who stuck with me through it all. Moving to Kurunegala, I had to stay in a hostel for a year, after that my entire family moved to Kurunegala.”
Asking him about his beginnings as wicketkeeper brought a cheeky grin, “I actually started off as a fast bowler, but I really can’t bowl – I chuck! My first coach Nuwan Sir was the one who told me ‘try wicket keeping, you can’t bowl’”
It comes as no surprise that fellow left handed wicket keeper batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist are among his favourite players but he insists that although he admired the way they played, he never tried to be like them.
“I never tried to bat the way that they bat… I always played the way I could, trying to be the best that I can be”
His enjoyment for the game aside, it’s obvious that Minod always had aspirations to achieve certain milestones and set himself targets to meet even as a school boy.
“My 1st goal was to play in the first XI in school. Once I achieved that, I really had a desire to represent the national under 19s and play a World Cup.”
He was able to achieve both goals in a short space of time as his prolific run in school’s cricket won him a place in the National Under 19 team. He played in the 2014 Under 19 World Cup alongside Kusal Mendis and Binura Fernando who have since made their debuts in the senior team and spoke of how regular tours helped ease the pressure of playing in such a big tournament.
“I didn’t really feel any pressure during the World Cup, I played it like it was just another tournament – because we had already toured abroad, it wasn’t too stressful.”
His methods seemed to work well for him and he described how under 19 batting coach Mr. Ellepola was instrumental in batting him up the order which in turn meant that he made more runs.
“He (Ellepola) batted me at number 3 and I got 940 runs that season. I give him all the credit for my performance. It’s only after that that I started playing at number 3 or 4 or opening; in school I batted low down the order.”
His exploits at the Under 19 and school’s circuit helped him earn a spot in one of Sri Lanka’s most prestigious clubs and it’s clear that he doesn’t take the opportunity lightly.
“I have no words to describe the feeling of getting to bat at #3 in a lineup like this. The three guys who bat ahead of me mostly are Danushka aiya, Dimuth aiya and Kaushi aiya – the fact that I’m in next after them gives me a huge sense of pride and satisfaction. Below me there are guys like Kapu aiya, Kanda aiya, Sachi aiya, players who have so much more experience than I do. Batting before them gives me a lot of confidence, I don’t feel any pressure.”
Minod didn’t just waltz into the side either. SSC being one of the top clubs in the nation boasts of a plethora of national cricketers and that being so, getting into the playing XI was no easy task for the youngster. In his 1st season at SSC last year, he played just two games but his 100 against Ragama CC in the last match of the season was a sign of things to come. During the off season he played for the Development XI, President’s XI and Sri Lanka A team, racking up valuable scores and has been a regular starter and heavy run scorer for SSC this season. He credits his success at the club to the atmosphere created by the senior players.
“It’s really awesome playing with the national players in the SSC lineup. They never let anyone fall psychologically. If you fail, they help you out and try to teach you the right things. Even with simple words of encouragement, they help the young players out.”
Although he has played quite a few valuable innings throughout his short career, he rates his triple century as his best innings so far.
“The triple century I got recently was the best innings I’ve ever played in my life. I wasn’t really thinking about how much runs I could get. My main goal was to occupy the crease for as long as I could, because I loved batting out there.”
This, according to him, is his most valuable asset; he puts a price on his wicket.
“When I go into bat, my aim is to stay at the crease as long as I can and score big runs for whatever team I’m representing.”
It is clear that Minod’s life revolves around cricket. Between games and practices, he has little time for anything else.
“I work at LB Finance but really I don’t get time to actually go into work with practices and matches. Club practices start in the morning, so we only have the evening’s free. I won’t really even have an off season because I’m eligible to play the Under 23 tournament as well. As soon as this season finishes, the under 23 tournaments will start”
Although he is grateful to all the coaches and support staff who have helped him along the way, he says that it is his parents who have been through it all with him and have constantly pushed him towards bigger things.
“My parents, right from the beginning, to this day, they are the ones who have always behind me and pushed me towards my goals.”
As it is with all budding cricketers who play the gentleman’s game, his aspiration is to one day represent Sri Lanka at the highest level.
“My dream is to play, not one game… but to have a long career playing for Sri Lanka, to play with the Sri Lanka crest above my heart. I like the longest format the most so I would love to play test cricket but I will take any opportunity to play, even in ODIs and T20s.”
He does not feel that it is fair to expect his triple century to get him into the national set up but is determined to prove that the innings that got him into the record books was not just a one-off.
“Just because I got 340 – I can’t depend purely on that score because no one can truly judge a player on one performance. I will prove myself by giving my best and performing well in the upcoming matches.”
For now, his main focus is to secure a championship for SSC – “Our aim is to get as many points in the upcoming matches and go towards winning a championship – I will give my all – my 200 per cent – to go towards achieving that goal”
We, at www.ThePapare.com, wish Minod all the very best in the coming years and would like to thank this exciting young player for taking the time to speak to us. We hope that his continued good performances will help him achieve his dream of playing for Sri Lanka someday.
